Lake Superior State Extends Damon Whitten’s Contract

Lake Superior State announced a six-year contract extension for head coach Damon Whitten on Thursday, which will keep Whitten with the Lakers at least through the 2027-2028 season.

Whitten is an excellent recruiter and his teams play an up-tempo style which made the Lakers competitive in the WCHA, despite the challenges they face as a smaller school in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

In 2018-2019, Lake State won 23 games, their most since the end of the school’s glory days when they won 30 games in Jeff Jackson’s final season in Sault Ste Marie in 1996. Last season, Lake Superior State won the WCHA playoff championship and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, again, the school’s first since Jackson’s final year in 1996.

In the school’s press release, Lake Superior State president Dr. Rodney S. Hanley said:

“I am excited to have Damon Whitten continue as the head coach of our Laker hockey program. This is a well-deserved extension as Damon has led us back to national prominence, and I am confident that he will remain committed to Lake Superior State’s proud hockey tradition, not to mention our student-athletes’ academic achievements. I’d like to congratulate Damon and his family for this accomplishment, and look forward to the upcoming seasons of Laker hockey!”