Washington hired Brad Jackson as an assistant men's basketball coach, Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar announced Friday.

"I think we got an absolute steal," Romar said in a news release. "You hire a basketball coach off of winning a national championship ... it doesn't happen very often. I'm just ecstatic that he has decided to do this.

"I have tried to hire him before and it just didn't work out. He is successful, very accomplished and knows the Northwest. He has been here forever. He is definitely going to help our program."

Jackson spent 27 seasons at Western Washington University, winning 518 games as head coach. The 60-year-old, who led the Vikings to the NCAA Division II national championship last season, will join Washington on its upcoming trip to Europe and Africa. The Huskies leave Aug. 25.

"It was very, very hard," Jackson said in a news release. "Our roots are in Bellingham. The other side of that is that my wife grew up in Seattle, I started my coaching career here at SPU [Seattle Pacific University] and we have a lot of friends here. It is only an hour drive away. The logistics are very easy."

"But, the fact that I've headed a program for 27 years and sort of built it from scratch, leaving that is difficult. The other part is the current players. Some of the relationships I have with them have gone on for quite a few years. Those are going to be the toughest parts about leaving."