By Matias Saari

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Jordan's outlook on life was put to its greatest test in May 1999 after he nearly died in a rock-climbing accident 40 miles north of Fairbanks. Two months earlier, the All-America rifle shooter from Colorado had helped the Nanooks win their first of six consecutive national championships.

Jordan spent three days clinging to life after the 60-foot fall. Less than three months later he was back in Fairbanks learning to live independently in a wheelchair. He went moose hunting that autumn and continued studies in natural resources management without missing a day of school.

"I never had a depression phase, never think about it, have never doubted why it happened," he said. "I never look at it as a negative thing. There are a lot of things that I've been able to do since I got hurt that I never would have done beforehand."

Coaching a dynasty is one. After graduating from UAF in 2001, Jordan moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., to train for the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, where he earned a silver medal. (After a four-year shooting hiatus, Jordan recently began training for the 2012 Paralympics.)

In 2005, Jordan was set to take a job at a shooting range in Minnesota, but changed his mind.

"I always dreamed about coming back to Fairbanks and living here," Jordan said. "So I called them up the next day and said, 'Sorry, I can't do it.'"

He hadn't yet lined up employment in Fairbanks when the UAF rifle job opened up after Glenn Dubis retired.

Jordan was hired and led the Nanooks to national championships in his first three years, including the 2007 title before a national record-setting crowd at the Patty Center. The streak was snapped last March.

"In a way, it's good for the sport for other teams to win," said Jordan. "I would love to win it every year, but I don't know that it's totally reasonable to expect that."

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