Erik Largen Named Finalist for Spencer Penrose Award

Erik Largen, the head coach of the Alaska Nanooks, has been named a finalist for the 2025-26 Spencer Penrose Award. The honor is presented annually to the CCM/AHCA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year.

Largen is one of ten coaches selected as finalists for the award following their on-ice success during the 2025-26 season. The finalists were chosen by the 63 NCAA Division I head coaches across the country.

Award Selection Criteria

The nomination process for the Spencer Penrose Award is based on specific performance benchmarks achieved during the hockey season. Nominees include any head coach who earned Coach of the Year honors within their respective conference, as well as coaches whose teams advanced to the 2026 NCAA Frozen Four.

Among this year’s finalists, Dane Jackson of the University of North Dakota is the only coach to meet both eligibility criteria. Jackson, who is in his first year as a head coach, earned conference Coach of the Year honors and led his team to the 2026 Frozen Four.

Jackson and the University of North Dakota won the Julie and Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup, which serves as the regular-season trophy for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

Historical Context and Past Recipients

The Spencer Penrose Award is named in honor of the Colorado Springs benefactor who established the Broadmoor Hotel Complex. This location served as the site for the first 10 NCAA championship hockey tournaments.

Of the ten current finalists, only Mike Hastings of the University of Wisconsin is a previous recipient of the award. Hastings previously won the honor while at Minnesota State University in 2015, 2021, and 2022.

Hastings is one of only three coaches in the history of the award to win it three times. The other two coaches to achieve this milestone are Jack Parker of Boston University, who won in 1975, 1978, and 2009, and Charlie Holt of the University of New Hampshire, who won in 1969, 1974, and 1979.

In the 75-year history of the Spencer Penrose Award, Hastings is the only coach to have won the award in consecutive years.

Timeline and Presentation

The American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) announced the finalists on March 31, 2026. The winner of the 2025-26 award will be officially announced on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.

The physical award will be presented on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. The presentation will take place during the 2026 AHCA Convention, held at the Hyatt Coconut Point Resort in Bonita Springs, Florida.

The award is sponsored by CCM Hockey and is determined by the members of the American Hockey Coaches Association.