Longtime Ferris State Hockey Assistant Coach Mark Kaufman Honored As AHCA's Terry Flanagan Award Recipient

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Big Rapids, Mich. - Longtime Ferris State University men's ice hockey assistant coach Mark Kaufman has been chosen as the 2021 recipient of the American Hockey Coaches Association's (AHCA) Terry Flanagan Award.

Named in honor of the former University of New Hampshire player and Bowling Green State University assistant coach, the award honors an assistant coach's career body of work. Each year, only one assistant coach in the game is honored.

By earning the award, Kaufman joins a fellow FSU staff member in Associate Head Coach Drew Famulak as a Terry Flanagan Award recipient. He previously claimed the award in 2012 and the Bulldogs are now among only a handful of schools that have had multiple recipients of the prestigious honor.

"Mark is extremely deserving of this prestigious honor and we are thrilled with his selection as this year's award recipient," said FSU head coach Bob Daniels. "He has played an instruemental role on our staff throughout the years and is well-respected across the country and in the game of hockey. This is an outstanding award that only a few individuals have ever received and to now have two of our staff members chosen is a great reflection on how valuable they have been to our program."

Kaufman, who is in his 15th year as an assistant coach with the Bulldogs in the 2020-21 season after first being named assistant coach at Ferris State in July 2006, has served on the FSU staff in two different stints. He was also an assistant at Ferris State from 1992-94 under Daniels and is involved in all facets of the program. 

The longtime FSU assistant has played a key role on the staff throughout his tenure. In 2015-16, Kaufman helped lead FSU to the school's first postseason tournament championship ever as the Bulldogs claimed the WCHA Final Five Championship during a memorable postseason run. FSU advanced to the national tournament for the third time in five years while reaching the NCAA Final Eight. Prior to that, in 2011-12, Kaufman helped lead the Bulldogs to the program's second-ever league regular-season championship and a historic first-ever trip to the Frozen Four where FSU reached the national championship game. In 2013-14, he also helped lead the Bulldogs to the WCHA Regular-Season Championship in FSU's debut season along with an NCAA Elite Eight appearance. 

Prior to his second stint at Ferris State, Kaufman had spent two seasons (2003-05) as head coach and general manager of the United States Hockey League's (USHL) Sioux Falls (Iowa) Stampede after serving as the director of hockey operations and head coach of the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Wings in 2000.

A native of Pittburgh, Pa., Kaufman spent 1998-02 with the Richmond (Va.) Renegades of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) as the organization's head coach/director of hockey operations. He was chosen as co-coach of the 1999-00 Northern Conference All-Star Team. In the 1998-99 season, Richmond was Kelley Cup Playoff finalists and playoff champions of the Northern Conference.

Following his initial two seasons (1992-94) at Ferris State, Kaufman served as an assistant coach for the International Hockey League's (IHL) Kansas City (Mo.) Blades in the 1994-95 campaign. He helped the Blades become a Turner Cup Playoff finalist and win an Eastern Conference Playoff title. The following season (1995-96), Kaufman moved up to the NHL ranks with the San Jose Sharks in an assistant coaching capacity. He then spent two seasons (1996-98) as an assistant with the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Kaufman arrived at Ferris State in Bob Daniels' first season (1992-93) as head coach and the Bulldogs went on to register a 21-16-4 overall record and competed in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Championships. He then was promoted as the top assistant on Daniels' staff for the 1993-94 campaign.

Prior to Ferris, Kaufman was the general manager and head coach of the USHL's Rochester (Minn.) Mustangs where he compiled a 116-95-7 record and coached the 1989-90 team to its third Junior A national championship. He coordinated all of the scheduling, budgeting, recruiting, game staging, off-ice training, housing, fund raising and public relations at Rochester.

From 1986-88, Kaufman served as an assistant coach for U.S. International University, a former NCAA Division I independent located in San Diego, Calif. His responsibilities included monitoring the academic progress of the student-athletes, admissions, housing and the administration of financial aid.

Kaufman was head coach of the Reford (Mich.) Junior B team in 1984-85 and guided the Royals to both league and playoff championship titles. He was also an assistant coach for the USA Hockey Junior Olympic Festival in Lake Placid, N.Y. in 1992.

As a collegian, Kaufman earned a bachelor's degree in urban planning from Michigan State University in 1984. In 1987, Kaufman received his master's degree in physical education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He was a graduate assistant coach for the RedHawks during the 1985-86 season.

A 1979 graduate of Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Kaufman competed in ice hockey as a prepster. Kaufman holds membership in the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA).