Jack Jensen headed to another Hall of Fame

Jack Jensen of Guilford College is already in several sports Hall of Fames for basketball and golf and now he is headed to another. Jack coached Word B. Free, ML Carr, Bob Kauffman and many others in basketball and he has many accomplishments in golf.

GCAA Names 2007 Hall of Fame Inductees
Drennan, Hardwick and Jensen to be inducted into coaches Hall of Fame

NORMAN, Okla. — The Golf Coaches Association of America has named inductees for its 2007 Hall of Fame class. Rhode Island coach Tom Drennan, Jay Hardwick of Virginia and Guilford’s Jack Jensen will be honored at the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception and Awards banquet Monday, Jan. 14 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla.

The coaches share the moment with Arnold Palmer, who will become only the third non-coach inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame. The organization will also present Palmer with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The GCAA announced Palmer’s recognition earlier this week.

In 20 years under Drennan’s guidance, Rhode Island has dominated men’s college golf in the Northeast. The Rams have won 10 of the last 11 New England Intercollegiate Golf Association Championships, five Atlantic 10 Championships and made 16-straight NCAA Regional appearances. Drennan has been named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year twice and Eaton Golf Pride New England Region Coach of the Year nine times (1995, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99, ‘00, ‘01, ‘ 02, ‘04 and ‘07). He was also named Rhode Island Coach of the Year twice (1994, ‘99). In 2004, he led Rhode Island to its first national championships appearance since 1967 when it finished eighth at the NCAA East Regional. Drennan served as president of the GCAA from 2004-2006 and is currently the association’s immediate past president.

In 25 years as the head golf coach at Virginia Tech, Hardwick has developed the Hokies golf program into one of national prominence. The only coach in history to win the championship in four different conferences with the same school, Hardwick has won a total of eight conference championships (three BIG EAST crowns, two each in the Atlantic 10 and Metro Conferences and the 2007 ACC Championship). His teams have won 30 tournaments and he has had 31 players named to all-conference teams, six to the all-region teams and has produced three PING All-America selections and three Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars. Hardwick has been named Coach of the Year 11 times. In 1992, he was the inaugural coach of Team USA, which won the gold medal in the World Junior Team Championship in Japan. In 1994, Hardwick became the 11th and youngest inductee in the Virginia PGA Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was honored as the recipient of the inaugural Labron Harris Sr. Award presented by E-Z-GO, as well as the Bill Strausbaugh Award presented by the Middle Atlantic PGA.

Jensen is currently in his 32nd season as Guilford’s golf coach. He has guided 26 teams to national tournaments, including the 2005 and 2002 NCAA Division III national titles and the 1989 NAIA national crown. In addition to the national titles, Guilford has placed second at the Division III championship four times and three times at the NAIA national tournament. The Quakers have 17 top-10 national tournament finishes under Jensen. Under his direction, 25 Guilford golfers have received 40 performance and 11 academic honors. He earned Eaton Golf Pride National Coach of the Year honors in all three of his championship seasons as well as eight Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year accolades. He has also won a league-record 10 ODAC championships, including a conference-best five straight from 2000-04. Jensen coached the U.S. team in the 2003 Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship. A member of the NAIA and Guilford College Sports Halls of Fame, Jensen was the second person to coach two different sports – basketball was the other – to NAIA national titles. Jensen is a 1961 graduate of Wake Forest University, which is also Palmer’s alma mater.

– GCAA –