Brad Jackson, who coached Western Washington to the Division II men's basketball championship this year, has joined Lorenzo Romar's Washington staff.

Jackson, 60, won a school-record 518 games in 27 seasons at Western. The Vikings were 31-5 last season, beating Montevallo (Ala.) 72-65 in the championship game.

"I think we got an absolute steal," Romar said in a UW 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 is expected to replace Raphael Chillious, who reportedly will join Jay Wright's staff at Villanova, after three years at Washington.

Jackson is respected in the local coaching ranks as a solid basketball mind, especially with offensive strategies. He's had chances to join the Huskies in the past and said he couldn't turn down this opportunity again.

"The position is really a great fit and the timing is right," Jackson said in a statement released by Western. "But we've worked very hard to establish something here and it's hard to leave that. A lot of great young men have played here and I take a lot of pride in what's been accomplished."

Jackson, a graduate of Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Wash., played basketball and baseball at Washington State. He was interested in the Cougars' head-coaching job when Kevin Eastman exited in 1999 and Paul Graham was fired in 2003 but was rebuffed both times.