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An off-hand remark by one of the commentators in yesterday's RIT-UNO game really piqued my curiosity ... At some point during the game it was noted that RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson had been a member of Jerry York's first NC-winning team at Bowling Green in 1984, a game I attended at the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid. Hmmm, thinks I - how many other DivI Head Coaches can make the same claim? A few jumped right out, but several were quite a surprise (at least to me) ... Current (at least for now :-) Wisconsin Head Coach Mike Eaves won a title with his alma mater in 1977 in Detroit, as did Harvard coach Ted Donato with Harvard in 1989 in St. Paul. What I hadn't realized until doing a little research this morning was that Vermont Head Coach Kevin Sneddon (as a teammate of Donato's for several years) was apparently also a member of that same NC-winning team. Denver Head Coach Jim Montgomery won a title (1993) with Maine in Milwaukee, while OSU Head Coach Scott Rohlik was a member of Bucky's 1990 title-winning team. I suspected that UNO Head Coach Dean Blais might be a likely candidate for this list, but again didn't realize until today that he actually won *TWO* National Championships playing for Minnesota in 1974 and 1976, the first, ironically, in Boston at old Boston Garden; time will tell if he can shortly add a third National Title as coach (following 2 with North Dakota in 1997 and 2000) in the city where he won his first as a player ...
Some other interesting tidbits uncovered while researching the archives this morning ... NoDak Head Coach Dave Hakstoll has been, ahem, criticized in some quarters for never having won a National Title as bench boss of the team-formerly-known-as-the-Fighting-Sioux, but his time as a player at North Dakota was equally as barren, as none of their 7 titles were won while he wore the green & white. UMD Head Coach Scott Sandelin was equally snake-bitten; NoDak's National Championships in 1982 and 1987 perfectly bracketed his title-less time (1983-1986) in Grand Forks. Another name that I suspected should be on this list was Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson; he, of course, won 2 National titles with LSSU in 1992 and 1994 (and famously lost to Paul Kariya and Jim Montgomery in the 1993 title game), but I couldn't confirm his undergraduate playing experience. His bio notes that he 'attended' Michigan State, and his age suggests he *might* have been a member of Sparty's 1986 title team; does anyone know for certain? Are there other names I've overlooked? Are there any DivII or DivIII Head Coaches who won titles as DivI players? I'm hoping the vast historical knowledge of the USCHO community can fill in the gaps ...
Some other interesting tidbits uncovered while researching the archives this morning ... NoDak Head Coach Dave Hakstoll has been, ahem, criticized in some quarters for never having won a National Title as bench boss of the team-formerly-known-as-the-Fighting-Sioux, but his time as a player at North Dakota was equally as barren, as none of their 7 titles were won while he wore the green & white. UMD Head Coach Scott Sandelin was equally snake-bitten; NoDak's National Championships in 1982 and 1987 perfectly bracketed his title-less time (1983-1986) in Grand Forks. Another name that I suspected should be on this list was Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson; he, of course, won 2 National titles with LSSU in 1992 and 1994 (and famously lost to Paul Kariya and Jim Montgomery in the 1993 title game), but I couldn't confirm his undergraduate playing experience. His bio notes that he 'attended' Michigan State, and his age suggests he *might* have been a member of Sparty's 1986 title team; does anyone know for certain? Are there other names I've overlooked? Are there any DivII or DivIII Head Coaches who won titles as DivI players? I'm hoping the vast historical knowledge of the USCHO community can fill in the gaps ...
) but come on now... 
He was actually an assistant on Crazy Frank Anzalone's LSSU team by 1986. He never played varsity hockey at MSU, in part due to a serious injury. His undergrad days there ended with two BAs in the 1970s.
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