Jim Kubinski Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Springfield (Mass.) College '93

One of the nation's top young golf teachers, Jim Kubinski recently completed his third season as the head coach at Notre Dame. Having assumed the post on Jan. 28, 2005, Kubinski is just the sixth head coach in the 78-year history of the Irish men's golf program, inheriting a storied tradition that includes the 1944 national championship, 19 top-10 NCAA Championship finishes and 33 NCAA postseason appearances.

"We feel Jim is one of the rising stars in the golf coaching community and someone who can continue to develop our program into a perennial national contender," Notre Dame director of athletics Kevin White said.

It hasn't taken long for Kubinski to make his mark at Notre Dame and reward White's confidence in his abilities. In his first tournament at the helm of the Irish, just one month after setting foot on campus, Kubinski helped guide Notre Dame to the championship of the 2005 NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational, winning the title on the first hole of a sudden death playoff against UNC Wilmington. It was the first of two tournament crowns in the 2004-05 season for Notre Dame and made Kubinski the first Irish men's golf coach since 1961 to win the opening event of his career. That season, Rev. Clarence Durbin, C.S.C., led the Irish to a 23.5-6.5 dual-match win over Western Michigan.

That was the start of what has been a stellar three-year run for the Notre Dame skipper, who piloted the Irish to consecutive BIG EAST Conference titles in 2005 and 2006, and back-to-back NCAA regional appearances both years. He also has a three-year record of 224-206-10 (.520) record and 13 wins over teams ranked in the Golfweek Top 25. What's more, Notre Dame has regularly collected votes in the Golf World Top 25 coaches poll and has risen as high as No. 12 in the Golfweek rankings (Oct. 2, 2005).

Under Kubinski's guidance, Notre Dame has registered 12 top-five finishes in 33 tournaments, including three tourney titles (two coming in sudden-death playoffs). The Irish also have carded three of the top seven single-season stroke averages in school history, following a 299.89 mark in 2004-05 (seventh all-time) with a school-record pace of 292.97 in '05-06 and a 295.71 mark last season (second all-time). In addition, Notre Dame has fired eight of the top 11 single-round scores in school history since Kubinski arrived on campus, including impressive final-round postseason efforts at the 2005 NCAA Central Regional (282, +2) and the 2006 BIG EAST Championship (school-record 272, -16). The latter score highlighted a 12-stroke comeback victory over Louisville, the second-best rally in the storied history of the Irish men's golf program, and led the Notre Dame's selection as the Golfweek National Team of the Week (May 1, 2006) for the first time in program history.

Individually, Kubinski has produced impressive results with several Irish players in a short span of time. Cole Isban became the first three-time PING All-Midwest Region selection (2005-07) in program history under Kubinski's tutelage, and recently graduated as the school record holder for single-season stroke average (72.71 in 2006-07), and career stroke average (73.76). Josh Sandman got a late start to his college career in '05-06 due to an injury, but since he hit the links, he has been superb, posting a 73.76 career stroke average in 49 rounds (17 tournaments) that puts him on pace to threaten Isban's school record. Thus, it's no wonder Kubinski was nominated for the 2007 GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teachers List, honoring the nation's pre-eminent golf instructors.

"As a lifelong Notre Dame fan, I couldn't ask for a greater opportunity than to be the head coach of the Fighting Irish," Kubinski said. "It's certainly a special time to play for Notre Dame and be a part of this great university. I'm looking forward to an exciting time ahead and feel that we're building something here that will be a great source of pride for our players and our university in the years to come.

"Notre Dame exemplifies the best of everything in a college environment, both academically and athletically," Kubinski continued. "It's my goal to ensure that we are a perennial top-10 program on the course and in the classroom, consistent with the best traditions of Notre Dame, and I truly believe we can achieve that goal."

Kubinski, 37, came to Notre Dame after spending a year and a half as the assistant men's and women's golf coach at Duke. During his tenure, the Blue Devil men's team won three tournaments, qualified for the 2004 NCAA East Regional (missing the NCAA Championship field by a single stroke), and rose to No. 13 in the Golfweek rankings at the close of the fall 2004 season. He also worked closely with 2004 third-team All-American and all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection Nathan Smith, as well as '04 honorable mention All-American and all-ACC pick Ryan Blaum, resulting in his nomination for the GCAA Assistant Coach of the Year award. In his capacity as an aide with the Duke women's squad, he played an integral role in the Blue Devils' 10 tournament victories (in 11 events), their ascension to No. 1 in the Golfweek rankings, the 2004 ACC and NCAA East Regional titles, and a third-place finish at the '04 NCAA Championship.

Kubinski was a three-year golf letterman and two-year team captain at Springfield (Mass.) College before graduating in 1993. A two-time all-Northeast 10 Conference selection in 1991 and 1992, he also received the Springfield College Maroon Club Award for academic and athletic achievement in 1992. His playing experience continued on the North Atlantic Tour where he tied for sixth place at the '95 Boston Open, and he also competed in the Carolinas Section PGA.

Born May 4, 1970 in Springfield, Mass., Kubinski and his wife, Sarah, now live in South Bend. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Kelly, in September 2007.