“When you know, you know.” Denver Men’s Lacrosse Coach and Hall of Famer Bill Tierney announced that the 2023 season would be his last on Thursday night.
.@DUCoachTierney Set to Retire Following 42nd College Season in 2023
— Denver Men’s Lacrosse (@DU_MLAX) January 5, 2023
✍️: https://t.co/VKN7ssDLTe#GoPios pic.twitter.com/VAfdU3EiC1
Coach Tierney coached for 48 years at two high schools and four colleges. His numbers alone would put him among the Mount Rushmore of lacrosse coaches. Denver’s press release laid out the numbers.
- He enters his final season with a 429-147 (.745) record
- 30 NCAA Tournament appearances
- 25 trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals
- 15 NCAA D-I Championship Weekend appearances
- 9 appearances in the Division-I title game and
- 7 national championships (a record)
- 14 Ivy League Championships
- 7 BIG EAST regular-season crowns and 2 BIG EAST Tournament championships
- Inducted into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2002
Tierney has won and brought a standard of excellence to every program he has been to. Always making sure to leave it in a better place than where he found it. Tierney started his college coaching career at RIT where he led the Tigers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1983 and 1984. From there he went on to become an assistant lacrosse (and head men’s soccer coach) at Johns Hopkins University where he won two national championships.
Coach T…I don't know where to start. You have won more D1 Titles than any coach…but that's not the lead. You pushed the game, you mentored, you challenged, you screamed, you smiled, and you encouraged us all. You had a major impact on me. I'll miss you on the sidelines! pic.twitter.com/v67eeJtoXG
— Paul Carcaterra (@paulcarcaterra) January 5, 2023
In 1988 he was hired as the Head Coach at Princeton University. Tierney transformed the Tigers into a dominant force in the Ivy League and throughout Division 1 Lacrosse. Tierney would capture 14 Ivy League championships and six national championships in eight attempts.
The 1996 and 1997 Tigers honored at halftime. pic.twitter.com/KEpPS9CPvO
— Princeton Men's Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) May 30, 2022
In 2009, Tierney would make the biggest move of his career. He left Princeton to go out west to Denver. He told Inside Lacrosse that summer: “If I fall on my face and end up in a pile of snow, so be it. But I feel like I felt 23 years ago when I came to Princeton. I feel scared, I feel excited, I feel young. And these are all feelings that 57-year-olds don’t normally get the opportunity to feel.”
Division 1 coach of year is Bill Tierney, Denver. First coach to win NCAA championships at two different schools pic.twitter.com/gSZZ6sGpAj
— lacrossecoaches (@lacrossecoaches) December 11, 2015
Needless to say, Coach Tierney didn’t fall flat on his face. He has led Denver to a 157-54 record, 10 NCAA tournament appearances in 13 seasons, played in Championship Weekend five times, and shocked the world when they became the westernmost program to win the national championship in 2015.
Denver Pioneers: 2015 NCAA Men's Lacrosse National Champions #ncaaLAX pic.twitter.com/cbEx63A0Qa
— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) May 25, 2015
Coach Tierney opened Division 1 lacrosse to the West. Even more than all of the wins and championships, that may be his single greatest gift to the game. Coach Tierney embodied the Grow The Game mentality and spirit.
Thank you Bill Tierney for all you have given to the game. We look forward to following you and Pioneers in 2023.
🖐️home games
— Denver Men’s Lacrosse (@DU_MLAX) December 9, 2022
🖐️non-Saturday games
🖐️years since Ohio State's last trip to #PeterBartonLS (assuming we can avoid a major snow storm and world wide pandemic)
🖐️trips to the east coast.
🗓️: https://t.co/ygeVn4H5IK
✍️: https://t.co/EI8F0GjnQe
🎟️: https://t.co/lfHywkWmxw#GoPios pic.twitter.com/WorwYzJUaB