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Craig Jackson begins his third season as head coach of the Pacific women's basketball program after posting a 15-14 overall record in 2003-04 and a 13-5 mark in the Big West Conference. Jackson's second season saw the Tigers reach new heights as a program as he guided Pacific to its sixth consecutive winning season to set a new Pacific record for consecutive winning seasons. In addition, the Tigers also got off to their best Big West Conference start in program history, winning their first six conference matchups. Pacific finished the 2003-04 season with 13 Big West victories, setting the Pacific record for most conference wins in a season. Breaking records, however, is nothing new to Jackson as in his first season as the head coach of the Tigers, Pacific collected its second win in program history over a ranked opponent when the Tigers defeated No. 19 UC Santa Barbara 74-65 on Jan. 18th. The victory over the Gauchos broke the Tigers' 14-game losing streak to UC Santa Barbara and propelled Pacific to its first ever undefeated home conference season. Jackson's influence brought in record numbers of fans as well, as the 2002-03 Tigers set a new mark for home attendance, drawing 11,302 fans in 13 home contests. The Tigers also tied a program record with nine consecutive victories to place Pacific in its second consecutive Big West Conference Tournament championship game. Jackson's overall record is 31-28, including 24-10 in Big West Conference games. One of the keys to Jackson's success in his first two years has been an emphasis on establishing a home court advantage. Over the last two years, the Tigers are 18-7 in the Alex G. Spanos Center, including 16-1 in Big West contests. Prior to taking over as head coach in 2002-03, Jackson served as the first assistant coach for Pacific from 1998-2002. During Jackson's six years with the Tiger program, Pacific has a 99-74 overall record and was 64-30 in Big West Conference games. Before joining Pacific as an assistant coach in 1998, Jackson was the head coach for two years at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Ore. (1996-98). Jackson also served as an assistant coach for two seasons at his alma mater, Willamette University (1994-96) in Salem, Ore., and as an assistant coach at Division III national power Lewis & Clark (1993-94) in Portland, Ore. Jackson received his bachelor's degree from Willamette in exercise science in 1997. He was a decathlete on the Willamette track and field team. |
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