Bill Tierney Leaves Princeton for Denver
Coverage: Bill Tierney to Denver
* Bill
Tierney Leaves Princeton for Denver
* Tanton:
Tierney Changes Stripes, the Game
* Wiedmaier Wants
Metzbower
* Metzbower Turns
Down Princeton Job
* Man of
the Hour: In Depth with Bill Tierney
* Trevor Tierney
Confident in Dad, Denver
* DU's
Brown: 'I Can't Wait Until September'
from staff reports
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Bill Tierney, who led Princeton to six NCAA Division I championships as its men's lacrosse coach, has left the university to team up with his son and new assistant Trevor as the head coach at Denver. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Bill Tierney, who came to
Central Jersey more than two decades ago and built a forgotten
program into a six-time NCAA champion and 14-time Ivy League
champion, is leaving Princeton University to become the head men's
lacrosse coach at the University of Denver.
"I don't leave Princeton unfulfilled, unhappy, or disappointed in
any way," Tierney said in a press release. "I leave Princeton for
an opportunity that I never thought would come my way...I thank all
of the great men who've coached with me, especially David Metzbower
and Bryce Chase. I have all the confidence in the world that
Princeton will choose the right leadership to follow in my path."
Tierney addressed Princeton lacrosse alumni in an e-mail prior to the announcement. In the e-mail, he cited family reasons -- including being able to worki with his son and new assistant coach Trevor Tierney -- and an interest in the sport's westward expansion.
He wrote:
"As you know, I have been offered many jobs over my 22-year tenure here. At 57 years old, and being offered this opportunity, however, I was confronted with something I wasn't looking for and had never imagined would happen. Helen (Tierney's wife) and I have always thought about going to Denver to retire. Having seen me on the sideline this year, you know I am nowhere near retirement, but the chance to go to that spot 10 or 15 years ahead of plan, while still being able to coach a great program, is enticing. Much of my family is out west. Trevor is in Denver, and will become my assistant coach, Brendan is working for Nike in Oregon, and Brianne is coaching at Cal Berkeley. Courtney will remain as a teacher and coach at the Pennington School, here in New Jersey...
"The lacrosse world, as you know, is taking huge steps out west. The chance for me to be a part of that growth, as an ambassador for the game, as well as for Denver, is very appealing. If we are truly going to make lacrosse a nationwide sport, we need for some programs out there to become great. I think I can help Colorado lacrosse become the launching pad for that movement...
"They have made the tournament a couple times, but really want to move forward. They have made it very appealing and comfortable for me to help them make that leap...
"I just know it is right for me, my family, the westward movement of lacrosse, and Denver University, which wants to be great in lacrosse."
Tierney went 238-86 as Princeton's head coach, including 13-3 in
2009, the last of his 22 seasons at Princeton. Including his three
seasons as RIT, Tierney is 272-93 as a college head coach.
His resume also includes leading the United States team to the
1998 world championship. He is a member of the National Lacrosse
Hall of Fame.
In addition to six NCAA championships, Tierney took Princeton to
eight NCAA finals, 10 NCAA Final Fours and 16 quarterfinal
appearances, including one in 2009. Princeton had never reached the
NCAA tournament prior to his arrival.
While at Denver, Tierney will coach with his son Trevor, an
All-American goalie at Princeton who played on the 1998 and 2001
NCAA championships teams, who will be an assistant coach with the
Pioneers. Tierney and his wife Helen will also be closer to his
youngest daughter Brianne, who is an assistant coach under former
Princeton great Theresa Sherry with California's women's lacrosse
program, and youngest son Brendan, who lives and works in Seattle.
His other daughter Courtney will continue to coach at the
Pennington School near Princeton.
"The University and the athletic department obviously have
bittersweet feelings about Bill's decision to take the head
coaching position at Denver," Walters said. "We understand his
interest in being closer to members of his family and working with
his son Trevor, while simultaneously taking on the challenge of
spreading the lacrosse Gospel to the Western states. We also
recognize the extraordinary contributions he has made to Princeton
University and the education of our student-athletes for 22
years."
Tierney inherited a team that won five Ivy League games in the
four years prior to his arrival combined. Princeton had not won an
Ivy League championship in the 20 years prior to his arrival, in
the summer of 1987.
He told his first class of Princeton recruits that they would win
a national championship together and then went out and made that
happen with a 10-9 double overtime win over Syracuse on Memorial
Day 1992.
Princeton followed with NCAA titles in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and
2001. In all, Tierney went 30-12 in NCAA tournament games, making
him and Roy Simmons Jr. of Syracuse (with 34) the only coaches with
at least 30 Division I NCAA tournament wins. Of Tierney's six NCAA
championships, four were won in overtime.
"Bill has been a great leader of the Princeton lacrosse program
and a great ambassador for the athletic department and the
game of lacrosse itself," Walters said. "At the same time,
Princeton remains committed to the high quality of its men's
lacrosse program, and as such we will now conduct a national search
in as timely a manner as possible."
Tierney inherits a Denver team one year removed from the NCAA tournament. The Pioneers went 7-8 in 2009, their final in the Great Western Lacrosse League as they move to, ironically, the ECAC for 2010.
"We are thrilled to announce the hiring of Bill Tierney as the
newest men's lacrosse coach at the University of Denver," athletic
director Peg Bradley-Doppes said in a press release. "He is a
tremendous addition to our coaching family and someone who will
elevate our program into a national contender. Bill is one of the
best coaches of any sport at any level and is highly regarded in
collegiate lacrosse. He demands a lot of his student-athletes on
the playing field, as well as in the classroom, and is the perfect
coach to take our program to the next level."
