Aug. 11, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame director of athletics, Kevin White, announced today the signing of women’s lacrosse head coach Tracy Coyne to a multi-year contract extension. The 2006 IWLCA and BIG EAST women’s lacrosse coach of the year, Coyne begins her 11th season directing the Irish women’s lacrosse program that she started in 1996.
During the 2006 campaign, Coyne’s squad turned in a school-record 15-4 season and advanced to the NCAA finals for the first time in the program’s 10-year history. The Irish fell in the national semifinals to Dartmouth, 14-8. The veteran head coach engineered the largest turnaround in NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse history (+10 games) during 2006 as Notre Dame went from 3-12 in 2005 to a 15-4 finish.
In making the announcement, White said, “Tracy and her staff did an outstanding job last spring in taking the program to new heights, culminating with a trip to the NCAA Final Four. To be sure, Tracy is highly respected amongst her peers and has a proven track record as an outstanding recruiter and inordinately passionate team leader.”
White added, “Furthermore, Tracy’s program has achieved unparalleled success, not only on the field, but in the classroom and the local community as well. The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program has an exceptionally bright future, and I am very excited that Tracy will continue as its head coach.”
Coyne said, “I would like to thank Father Jenkins (Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC) and Kevin White for giving me the opportunity to continue to serve the University. It has been a tremendous honor to be part of such an outstanding institution, as well as, part of the women’s lacrosse program since its’ inception.”
“Kevin’s vision for the athletic department has been an inspiration to me. I am as motivated today as I was 10 years ago to do my best to firmly establish our women’s lacrosse program among the nation’s elite while ensuring that our student-athletes emulate the ideals of the University. Simply stated, I love my job and I love my team and I look forward to building on last season’s success,” added Coyne.
In 10 seasons at Notre Dame, Coyne owns an 87-64 record (.576) with three trips to the NCAA tournament (2002, 2004, 2006). In 19 years as a collegiate coach, the Pittsburgh, Pa., native is 201-90 (.691). The 2006 season proved to be Coyne’s finest as she saw her team bounce back from a difficult 2005 season that saw the Irish suffer four, one-goal losses and seven losses by three goals or fewer to go 15-4. Along the way, the 1983 Ohio University graduate was selected as BIG EAST, IWLCA, Inside Lacrosse and womenslacrosse.com’s coach of the year.
A two-time BIG EAST coach of the year, Coyne has been instrumental in the development of 10 All-American players, including the program’s first two-time All-American, Crysti Foote, who was a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist in 2006 and the BIG EAST and IWLCA attack player of the year.
Coyne was hired at Notre Dame on July 11, 1996 to start the Division I program that began play in March of 1997. Prior to that, Coyne spent seven years at Roanoke where her teams were 91-21 (.813) with five NCAA appearances and two trips to the finals. She got her coaching start at Denison where her teams were 23-5 (.821) in two seasons with one NCAA appearance.
A veteran of international competition, Coyne has served as Canada’s national team coach since 1999, guiding Team Canada to fourth-place finishes at the 2001 and 2005 World Cups.