Report: West Coast Conference to hire Stu Jackson as new commissioner
Stu Jackson, a former NBA coach and the current executive associate commissioner for men’s basketball in the Big East Conference, has been appointed as the West Coast Conference’s new commissioner, according to multiple reports.
The news was first reported Sunday evening by CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein.
The WCC plans to formally introduce its next commissioner at a news conference Monday morning at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, where the league is currently holding its annual men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
Jackson will replace former WCC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, who took the same position in the Mountain West Conference last fall. Connie Hurlbut has been serving as the league’s interim commissioner since Dec. 1.
Jackson has an extensive background in basketball and ties to the Pacific Northwest, playing collegiately at Oregon before transferring to Seattle U. One of Jackson’s first coaching opportunities came at Washington State, where he worked as an assistant under Len Stevens from 1983-85 after spending three years as an assistant at Oregon.
Jackson was an assistant under Rick Pitino at Providence from 1985-87, spent two seasons as the head coach at Wisconsin and later became the second-youngest head coach in NBA history when he was hired by the New York Knicks in 1989. During Jackson’s tenure, which lasted less than two full seasons before he resigned, the Knicks went 52-45 and lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 1990.
A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Jackson was also a general manager for the Vancouver Grizzlies for the franchise’s first five seasons and coached the Grizzlies for 39 games during the 1996-97 season.
The list of current college and NBA coaches who worked under Jackson at various stops includes New Orleans Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy, Xavier coach Sean Miller and former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson.
In addition to his coaching and front-office roles, Jackson has been an executive vice president for the NBA and worked as a director of basketball operations for a professional basketball team in France, Elan Bearnais.