Bill Jack

Bill Jack mostly made his name coaching in Western Alaska.

However.

“His impact ripples across the state,” said longtime Bering Strait School District administrator Jeff Erickson.

Jack spent portions of four decades coaching basketball and cross-country running at Bethel, Kotzebue and Nome-Beltz in the western part of the state and also worked at Anchorage’s Heritage Christian. His team’s won numerous conference titles and won state crowns for small schools in 1976 and 1983. 

“Coach Jack worked hard to prepare his teams for success in both sports and life,” said former Nome-Beltz player Uly Hall. “To this day, he remains a friend and mentor to many former students he coached over the years. He was not only a hard worker, but a dynamic person.”

Jack completed the Iditarod twice, finishing a career-best 20^th in the 1992 edition of the Last Great Race.

“While the Iditarod was not directly related to high school (sports), it was incredibly motivating to his players who found it easy to buy into Coach Jack’s philosophy of dedication, hard work and unwavering commitment to get the best and most out of one’s self,” Hall said.