After 40 Years, BU Hockey Coach Jack Parker Retires

After four decades, Boston University's hockey coach Jack Parker has decided to step down at the end of this season, he announced on Monday afternoon. 

Parker, who turned 68 on Monday, told a roomful of former players, fans and media gathered at the Agganis Arena on Commonwealth Avenue, that the time had come for him to end his career as head coach. 

"It's been a great run and I've had a great time doing it," he said. 

Parker's "great run" has included three national championships, the most recent in 2009, seven Hockey East titles and 21 Beanpot Tournament crowns. He has 894 wins as head coach of the BU Terriers Men's Hockey team.

“Jack has had an outstanding career at Boston University,” said Dr. Robert A. Brown, Boston University’s president, at Monday’s press conference. “He has been a mentor and coach to so many great young men over the years, which is a very important part of his legacy."

Biography
Parker has been associated with the BU hockey program ever since 1963, when he arrived on campus as a freshman. The Somerville native and Catholic Memorial High School standout was a sparkplug at center for the 1966-68 Terrier varsity teams that combined for a 72-22-4 record and he served as team captain his senior year.

He began his coaching career right out of college at Medford High School. After one year, he returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistant under his former mentor, Jack Kelley. He worked in that capacity for three years before being elevated to the program’s B-team post in the fall of 1972.

On Dec. 21, 1973, Parker was named the 10th coach in Terrier hockey history, replacing Leon Abbott six games into the season. In his inaugural season, he led the Terriers to their first of four consecutive Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) crowns.

Since the formation of Hockey East in 1984, Parker has led BU to seven conference tournament titles and eight regular-season crowns. His 421 wins in league play are a Hockey East record.

A large part of Parker’s legacy in the Boston area is his incredible success in the Beanpot, having led the Terriers to the tournament title in over half (21) of his 40 campaigns behind the bench. He also won the Beanpot championship all three years as a player at BU. 

His first Penrose Award came in 1975, when he guided his first team to a 26-5-1 mark, the best major college record in the nation. He also earned the award after guiding the 1977-78 team to a 30-2 record and the NCAA title. Most recently, Parker earned the honor for the third time after leading the Terriers to the NCAA championship and a 35-6-4 record during the 2008-09 season. He is a seven-time New England Coach of the Year and has been tabbed the Hockey East Coach of the Year on five occasions.

Sixty-six of Parker’s former players at BU have gone to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). That list includes standouts such as Tony Amonte, John Cullen, Chris Drury, Mike Grier, Shawn McEachern, Rick Meagher, Jay Pandolfo, Keith Tkachuk and Scott Young.

Since 1976, 23 of Parker’s players have played in the Olympics. One of Parker’s proudest moments came in 1980 when former Terriers Mike Eruzione, Dave Silk, Jack O’Callahan and Jim Craig were key members of the ‘Miracle on Ice’ team that won the gold medal in Lake Placid, N.Y.

In recent years, Parker has been inducted into The Sports Museum’s Tradition (2009) and named a recipient of the NHL’s Lester Patrick Award (2010).

Parker was inducted in the Boston University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994 after receiving the school’s Distinguished Alum Award two years prior. He also was presented an Honorary Doctors of Letters degree by BU in 1997.

A former president of the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) and former member of the NCAA Ice Hockey Committee, Parker also served as head coach for the U.S. National Junior Team at the 1996 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, which was held in Massachusetts.

“I’m saddened to be walking away from the BU hockey program, but glad at the same time, because it’s been a great run and 40 years is enough. I’m really looking forward to taking my grandchildren to BU hockey games next year,” said Parker. “The university has treated me so well over my career and I’m truly honored to be associated with such a wonderful place and all the outstanding young men I had the pleasure of coaching.”

This season's team continues on with the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament this weeked. The Terriers are seeded third. 

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