Northwestern targeting Villanova AD Mark Jackson as next athletic director, per report

The Northwestern Wildcats are targeting Villanova AD Mark Jackson as their next athletic director, according to a report on Wednesday evening from Pete Thamel of ESPN. A deal is expected to come within the next 24 hours. Villanova won two national titles in basketball during Jackson’s tenure as AD.

If hired, he’ll surely have his hands full with the Wildcats. Northwestern has been dealing with an extensive hazing scandal over the past year. And it’s involved numerous lawsuits and legal battles.

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Under Jackson’s leadership as the athletic director, the Wildcats brought home two national championships in basketball (2016 and 2018). On three different occasions, the USC Trojans have pursued Jackson as their athletic director over the years. And two different times, he rejected their offers. In the third process, USC hired former University of Washington AD Jennifer Cohen. Jackson had ties with the USC athletic department through Pete Carroll, when he worked as their director of football operations and assistant athletic director (2001-2005). While he was with the Trojans, he helped with a number of projects, including the McKay Center, the Uytengsu Aquatics Center, and the renovation of Heritage Hall.

In 2006, Jackson acted as the Executive Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Syracuse University. Eventually, he was hired as the VP of Athlete Development at the boxing development firm called A2 Holdings.

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He had another stint in athletics management in the National Football League, when he was hired by Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin in 2007. Kiffin tabbed Jackson as the franchise’s director of football development. In 2008, Raiders head coach Tom Cable relieved Jackson of his duties.

Jackson had a brief career in college football and coaching in the NFL. He started out as a graduate assistant at Trinity from 1995 to 1996 as he pursued his Master’s degree. Jackson joined the New England Patriots coaching staff under Pete Carroll in 1998. Carroll was fired following 1999, but Jackson stayed on with the Pats with Bill Belichick’s staff as a special teams’ and running backs coach.

As a player, Jackson spent time at the defensive back position for Colby College (Waterville, Maine). He earned a bachelor’s degree in government there. Then when he went onto Trinity College (Connecticut), where he earned his Master’s degree in Public Policy.