Wise steps down after eight seasons behind Concordia (Wis.) bench

Jasen Wise served as the head coach at Concordia (Wis.) for the past eight seasons (photo: Megan Schmitz).

Jasen Wise, after eight years as the Concordia (Wis.) head coach, has decided to step down.

“I want to thank President Ferry and Dr. Barnhill for all of their support over the past eight years and giving me the opportunity to be the head coach of the men’s hockey program,” Wise said in a statement. “I am very proud of what we accomplished here and I think we have left the program in a better place than when we started. I am proud of the people and players that we have and have had in this program over the past eight years. We achieved success on the ice and in the classroom with a team GPA of 3.4 or higher in successive years.

“It wasn’t just about the wins, but also about doing things with integrity off the ice and that is something I think we did well.”

A national search for Wise’s replacement will begin immediately.

Wise took over the program in 2012-13 and over eight years became the winningest coach in program history with 84 victories, including the winningest season in program history with 16 victories during the 2017-18 season.

He guided the program to four appearances in the NCHA’s Harris Cup playoffs and eight victories over nationally-ranked teams, including a sweep of No. 1 St. Norbert in 2016-17.

Prior to his time at Concordia, Wise coached at Marian for eight seasons.