Courtesy: Binghamton Athletic Communications
VESTAL, N.Y. -- Binghamton
University athletics has hired Scott Nelson as its head
men's lacrosse coach, the school announced today. Nelson has
24 years of college coaching experience, most recently at Marist,
where he led the Red Foxes for the last three seasons, earning
conference coach of the year honors this spring. In 24 years,
he has recruited and coached more than 100 All-Americans and
his teams have won at a 68% clip and have captured three NCAA
titles.
"We are very pleased and
excited to welcome Scott to our department," interim director
of athletics Jim Norris said. "He is highly organized and
brings a wealth of coaching experience to the table. With his
positive deameanor and successful track record, and with the
resources and facilities currently in place, we are confident
Scott will position our men's lacrosse program among the top
teams in the America East on a yearly basis."
Nelson served the last three
years as head coach at Marist, guiding the Red Foxes to eight
wins in each of the last two seasons. His 2011 team finished
the regular season by winning seven straight games (program's
longest win streak) and reaching the Metro Atlantic Athletic
Conference tournament for the second straight year. They went
4-2 in league play to finish as regular season runnersup. His
2010 Marist team won the most regular season games in six years
and reached the MAAC tournament for the first time in five seasons.
"I'm very excited to accept
the position at Binghamton," Nelson said. "The opportunity
is a perfect fit for me and my family. I've always enjoyed working
in upstate New York and with the fine educational reputation
of the university and the support for the lacrosse program, I
believe we can provide a tremendous experience for our student-athletes."
Before taking over at Marist,
Nelson was the head coach at Brown for six years, leading the
Ivy League members to a top-10 national ranking in 2004 and 2005.
His 2002 squad went 4-2 in the Ivy, giving Brown its first winning
conference season in five years. In 2004, Nelson was named New
England Coach of the Year after his team went 9-5 and cracked
the nation's top-10.
Nelson made a name for himself
while at Division III Nazareth, where he led the Rochester-based
school to NCAA titles in 1992, 1996 and 1997. He was the program's
inaugural coach in 1986 and produced 12 NCAA appearances in 15
years, including five national semifinal berths and four straight
trips to the championship game (1995-98). Nelson's 1996 Golden
Flyers went a perfect 15-0 en route to the program's second NCAA
crown. He never had a losing season at Nazareth and concluded
his tenure there with 10 consecutive NCAA appearances and 13
straight seasons with 10 or more wins. His 177-40 record at Nazareth
represented one of the highest win percentages (82%) in the nation
over that span.
He began his career at Rutgers,
where he was an assistant from 1982-85. He is a 1982 graduate
of North Carolina State, where he earned his bachelor's degree
in psychology and was a standout lacrosse player.
Nelson has been inducted into
three Halls of Fame: the Rochster Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Hudson
Valley Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Nazareth Hall of Fame. He
has served on numerous national-level lacrosse committees, including
the NCAA Lacrosse Rules Committee, the NCAA Regional Tournament
Selection Committee and the Division III All-American committee
(chairman). Nelson was a member of the USA Team Selection Committee
and was a finalist for the Team USA coaching staff.
Scott and his wife, Lynne,
have three sons, Tucker, Jake and Jared. Lynne, a former elite
soccer player at Nazareth, is also a member of that school's
Hall of Fame.
At Binghamton, Nelson inherits
a Bearcats team that has advanced to the America East tournament
seven times in the last eight seasons, including the 2011 squad
that went 7-8 and finished in a tie for second place.