DAYTON, Ohio - University of Dayton women's basketball head coach Jim Jabir has announced the addition of Jeff House to his staff as assistant coach beginning with the upcoming 2015-16 season. House brings with him 28 years of basketball coaching experience and will serve as the team's recruiting coordinator.
"We are very happy to have Jeff join our staff," commented Jabir. "We feel he will be a tremendous addition to our basketball program with his knowledge of the women's game and his work ethic."
"I am extremely honored and humbled to have the opportunity to coach at the University of Dayton," House said. "To be able to join an elite academic institution, basketball program and coaching staff in one of the nations' power women's basketball conferences is incredible. I am so very grateful to Coach Jabir and the University of Dayton for allowing me to be a part of this amazing community. Coach Jabir has built something incredibly special at Dayton, from ground zero to a nationally elite program. I want to add whatever I can from my experiences to continue the journey."
Most recently, House was an assistant coach under Matthew Mitchell at Kentucky. He spent the 2013-14 season with the Wildcats, leading UK to a 26-9 overall mark and a 10-6 record in Southeastern Conference action. Kentucky then hosted NCAA First and Second Round games, advancing to the Notre Dame Regional.
Prior to his year at Kentucky, House spent 10 years in the professional ranks, including his last two seasons with the WNBA's Chicago Sky. During his 27-year career path, he has coached 19 WNBA All-Stars and major award winners along with four Olympians.
After seven seasons with the New York Liberty and one year as the top assistant coach with the Washington Mystics, House joined the college ranks serving as the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Virginia under Debbie Ryan from 2005-09. As the program's recruiting coordinator his recruiting classes were No. 10 (2008), No. 3 (2009) and No. 14 (2010) nationally by multiple national services, including Blue Star Report, All-Star Girl's Report and Collegiate Girl's Basketball Report. House recruited and helped develop Monica Wright, who was chosen by the Minnesota Lynx as the second overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft. He also played a role in recruiting 2009 WNBA draft picks Aisha Mohammed (Minnesota) and Lyndra Littles (Connecticut) and 2008 draft pick Sharnee Zoll (Los Angeles Sparks).
House played basketball at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y., before suffering a career-ending injury. He immediately jumped into the coaching realm, beginning his coaching career at McQuaid Jesuit High School also in Rochester while he was an undergraduate. At McQuaid, he served as an assistant to former Knicks and Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy in 1985. In 1986, House was a key component to McQuaid's run to the Class B, Section 5 New York State Championship.
A 1987 graduate of Nazareth College, House earned a bachelor's degree in art education. He also received a master's degree in teaching, guidance and counseling from Jacksonville University in 1991.
After graduation, House spent the next decade honing his skills as an assistant men's coach, including four seasons (1988-91) at the University of Lowell as an assistant to former ESPN analyst and current Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy. He also spent two seasons at Jacksonville University as an assistant coach with Matt Kilcullen and following the receipt of his master's degree, four seasons (1992-96) as an assistant coach at Rutgers University during its transition into the Big East Conference with Bob Wenzel. While at Rutgers, House served as head coach for the 1995 People-to-People Sports Holland All-Star Tour. He directed a combination of Big East, Atlantic 10 and Big Ten All-Stars to a 6-1 record, losing only to Holland's national champions.
House and his wife Ann Leonard-House, the former head women's volleyball coach at UMass-Lowell and Rutgers, have two children - daughter Elizabeth and son Thomas.
