Adelphi University Athletics

Heather Jacobs was named the ninth head coach in Adelphi women's basketball history in May 2010, and enters her sixth season with the Panthers in 2015-16.

The Panthers entered uncharted territory in 2015-16, posting a sparkling 28-4 record, claiming the program's first NE-10 Championship with a 79-57 victory over American International College and hosting the NCAA Division II East Regional. Jacobs' squad was also a force in the national rankings, peaking as high as #3 in the country, as she earned ECAC Division II and All-Met Coach of the Year honors, while Mannix and Anh-Dao Tran earned WBCA All-America Honorable Mention.

Jacobs guided her team to a 23-8 finish overall and 14-6 record in league play for the NE-10 Southwest Division regular season title in 2013-14. The Panthers fell to #1 Bentley University in the conference finals, but earned a berth to the NCAA East Regional tournament for the first time in Jacobs' history. After defeating the University of New Haven in the quarterfinals, the Brown and Gold faced cross-town rival LIU Post, but dropped an 85-83 decision to the Pioneers. Jacobs had two seniors named All-Met for their efforts, Sade Jackson and Jessica Kitrys, who both ended their careers with over 1,000 points scored while Kitrys became Adelphi's all-time leading scorer. 

In her third season in 2012-13, Jacobs and the Panthers continued their upward trend; the team posted a 15-13 overall record and an even 11-11 record in conference play, marking the most overall wins for the program since the 2006-07 season. In addition, the Panthers earned the #8 seed in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, marking their first postseason appearance since joining the NE-10. The Panthers won their first-ever NE-10 playoff game with an 80-77 overtime win against American International in the first round, before falling to top-seeded Bentley in the quarterfinals by a tight 89-80 score. Junior standouts Jessica Kitrys and Sade Jackson each earned All-Conference honors, while Kitrys also landed on the All-Met Division II First Team.

In her first two seasons, Jacobs laid the foundation of rebuilding the program in the competitive Northeast-10 Conference. In her first season with the Panthers in 2010-11, Jacobs had an NE-10 All-Rookie team selection as well as a Second-Team All-Metropolitan honoree. Off the court, the first-year head coach had one player on the conference's All-Academic squad and a Capital One Academic All-District Third-Team member. In 2011-12, she coached sophomore sensation Jessica Kitrys to the All-Met Division II Second Team and NE-10 All-Conference Third Team, and nutured freshman Kelly Mannix into the ECAC Division II Rookie of the Year.

Jacobs came to Adelphi after a three year stint as the head coach of Daniel Webster College, a Division III institution in Nashua, New Hampshire. In 2009-2010, she was named the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Coach of the Year after with a school record best finish of 20-6 and a regular season conference title. In 2008-09, she led the team to a then best-ever finish with a 17-11 overall record, which marked the first winning season for the program in 10 years. In addition, the program qualified for the post-season for the first time in as many years, winning its first ever playoff game, and advancing to the NECC's inaugural championship game.

Hired as the youngest head coach in the NCAA in 2007, Jacobs guided the Eagles to 10-15 record her first season. In addition to her coaching duties, she also served as the athletic program's senior woman administrator. Prior to her appointment at Daniel Webster, she spent one year as an assistant coach at Norwich University. The Lady Cadets posted a 24-4 overall record and advanced to the conference tournament championship game before earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

A native of Stoughton, Mass., Jacobs was a 2006 graduate of Franklin Pierce University. She graduated magna cum laude in Sports and Recreation Management with a minor in Marketing and was a two-time Northeast-10 Conference All-Academic selection. She closed out her collegiate career earning Second Team All-Conference accolades while leading the team in scoring and the NE-10 in free throw shooting. A two-time captain and team most valuable player as a junior and senior, Jacobs retired 20th all-time in scoring and 19th in rebounding.