Originally published on November 12, 2024.
An avid sports fan, Jeff Skaggs has worked hard his whole life, both on the court and on the sidelines. With more than 25 years of experience as an athletic director and coach at SanDomenico School in San Francisco, he continues to devote countless hours to his students, athletes, and community.
Before attending Southern Utah University, Jeff Skaggs graduated in 1976 from Marin Catholic High School near San Francisco. He continued on to attend junior college in Mt. Shasta, where he came across SUU’s information in the library. After writing to both the university and the basketball coach, Jeff transferred schools and earned a position on the basketball team.
“I came to SUU—a place very different from San Francisco—sight unseen,” says Jeff. “I later earned a scholarship, played for Stan Jack and Tom McCracken, and then coached as the lone assistant for Coach McCracken. Learning to be away from home and on my own was a growth process; that said, the people in southern Utah were so very welcoming.”
After graduating from SUU with his business degree, Jeff worked in corporate retail for a decade
before deciding to get his teaching credentials at age 40. He then went on to teach and coach at
San Domenico School, a private K-12 boarding school located 20 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, where he now also successfully operates multiple Nike Basketball Camps in the summer.
Jeff has overseen more than 60 teams throughout his career, coaching nearly every sport, including volleyball, basketball, cross country, and track and field. Working with athletes of all ages over the past quarter-century, Jeff maintains that his favorite part of the job is being a voice in so many students’ lives.
“It's been an incredible blessing and gift to have so many relationships through sports,” he says. Jeff’s experiences at SUU taught him about setting goals and achieving them, as well as the importance of self-discipline in school and athletics. Currently, he is a charter member of the Positive Coaching Alliance and resides in Novato, California, with his wife Beverley.
