Jack Fitzgerald was hired as Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey head coach on Sept. 2, 2025, effective Sept. 8. Fitzgerald, a former Amherst College and Middlebury College assistant coach, becomes the program's fourth head coach since it was elevated to varsity status in 1982-83.
Fitzgerald helped revitalize the Middlebury men's ice hockey program the past two seasons as the only assistant coach on a two-person staff. The Panthers advanced to New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament semifinals both years after last qualifying in 2015-16, and their 13-12-1 mark last winter was their first above .500 since 2012-13. Middlebury placed second in the league in power-play percentage the prior season. Fitzgerald's recruiting prowess shaped a roster with representation from 14 states and two Canadian provinces by 2024-25, and he was instrumental in recruiting the third-ranked class in NCAA Division III for the 2025-26 season, according to NeutralZone.com.
Fitzgerald was an assistant coach at Amherst, his alma mater, for the four years prior to landing at Middlebury (2019-20 to 2022-23). He was the Mammoths' lead recruiter and both crafted power-play systems and selected its personnel. Amherst led the NESCAC in power-play percentage during the 2022-23 season after taking second the year before. Fitzgerald's final winter at Amherst featured the program's highest win total (16-6-4) and first home semifinal appearance since 2014-15, with the Mammoths claiming fourth in NCAA Division III in scoring average while pacing the NESCAC in scoring defense. Amherst was also first in the nation in penalty kill percentage in 2019-20.
A native of Guilford, Conn., Fitzgerald was a coach, instructor, and assistant director of operations and marketing at different times with the Guilford-based Elite Hockey Program between 2019 and 2021.
Fitzgerald graduated from Amherst with a degree in psychology in 2019. He was a men's ice hockey captain as a senior, when the Mammoths qualified for their second NESCAC final during his career. They went a combined 51-35-16 overall and 34-23-15 in NESCAC play across his four years, when Fitzgerald netted 43 points in 102 contests. He was named to the Winter 2019 NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team, was a member of the Amherst LEADS Futures Program for three years, and has been involved with Special Olympics Massachusetts since 2015.
