40 AND OUT--Updated

Today's press conference will be streamed live. Here's the link.  More updates below..

Jack Parker, whose name is synonymous with Boston University Hockey, will announce his retirement tomorrow as Terrier head coach after 40 seasons behind the bench. The BU athletic department has called a 3 p.m. press conference at which the legendary coach will make it official.

Parker, who next weekend will guide the Terriers in a quest for their eighth Hockey East title, has three NCAA titles, 11 conference titles and 21 Beanpot championships on his resume. He assumed the head coaching duties in December of 1973 and led BU to the NCAA Final Four each of his first five seasons, including the 1978 NCAA title team.  He has received the Spencer Penrose Memorial Trophy as NCAA Coach of the Year three times, most recently in 2009.

There had been speculation about a retirement announcement a week ago when Parker’s four decades as BU coach were recognized between the periods of the BU-Vermont game. Among the names prominently mentioned as a potential successor: BU associate head coach Mike Bavis, Colorado Avalanche coach Joe Sacco, Avs assistant and former BU associate head coach David Quinn, New York Rangers assistant Mike Sullivan and Wilkes Barre/Scranton (AHL) head coach and former US NTDP head coach John Hynes.

Women’s Team Coach Brian Durocher, who co-captained 1977-78 champions and later was a BU assistant, told The Boston Hockey Blog, “ He’s been fantastic for Boston University hockey, and if that’s his decision, I’m absolutely elated that he’s made it on his own and had a career that very few, if any have had.”

“As a coach, what I tried to do was try to see the game from the bench like he did,” Durocher said. “He was somebody that always knew what was going on out there and somebody that knew what other teams were doing out there against him.”


►Arielle Aronson, who covered BU for the Daily Free Press for three seasons, discusses her relationship with BU Hockey and Jack Parker for a She's Game Sports blog post now posted on Boston.com .

● ESPN report 

● Boston Hockey Blog: Durocher interview

● Daily Free Press report

● College Hockey News report
● Boston Globe: Mike Eruzione reflects on Parker's legacy 
● Boston Herald: historic announcement
● Denver Post: Avalanche coaches tempted by BU job?