Princeton University Athletics
Bill Tierney Elected To U.S. Lacrosse Hall Of Fame
June 24, 2002 | Men's Lacrosse
June 24, 2002
PRINCETON, N.J. - Bill Tierney came to a lacrosse ghost town and built one of the top powerhouses the college game has ever known. In the process, he almost singlehandedly brought the game to Central New Jersey, and his resume makes a strong case that he ranks as one of the greatest coaches the sport has ever known.
Tierney has been selected to the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a member of the 45th class of inductees. He and his class of 10 will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Oct. 12 in Baltimore.
Tierney inherited a program at Princeton University that had not won as much as an Ivy League title in 25 years prior to his arrival in 1988. Since then Tierney has guided the Tigers to six NCAA championships, eight NCAA championship games, nine NCAA Final Fours and 10 Ivy League championships. Tierney also coached the United States to the 1998 World Championship.
"I am humbled by this wonderful honor and know how truly blessed I am to be elected to the lacrosse Hall of Fame," Tierney said. "When I think of all the players, peers, administrators, and assistant coaches with whom I have worked, I am keenly aware that without their friendship and support this achievement would be impossible. Most of all, to my family who have made the greatest sacrifices for my career, I am extremely thankful for allowing me to pursue my dream." Tierney has a record of 170-53 at Princeton and 204-60 overall, including his three years as head coach at Rochester Institute of Technology. Tierney also spent three seasons at Johns Hopkins as an assistant coach, helping the Blue Jays to the 1985 and 1987 NCAA championships.
"This is a very well-deserved honor," says Scott Bacigalupo, the Most Outstanding Player of the 1992 and 1994 Final Fours and the 1994 Division Player of the Year. "Coach Tierney is the standard-bearer by which all other coaches will now be measured. There's no better person to put in the Hall of Fame. We at Princeton were very fortunate to have him as our coach and are very fortunate that he's stayed all these years."
Tierney's ability to win close games in the NCAA tournament is legendary. His 25-7 NCAA Division I tournament record is the best in history, and he is 13-2 in one-goal NCAA games. Four of his six NCAA championship games wins have been in overtime.
"Coach Tierney helped me reach beyond my full potential as a lacrosse player," says Jon Hess, the 1997 Ivy League Player of the Year and a member of three NCAA championship teams. "That's something he's done for all of his players. His ability to do that is what makes him the coach that he is, and I'll always be grateful to him for that."
Princeton was 12-46 in the four years prior to Tierney's arrival, and his first team, in 1988, went 2-13. His first recruiting class, the Class of 1992, arrived the following fall.
"We had our first team meeting, and Coach Tierney kept the freshmen around when it was over," says Mike Mariano, a first-team All-America defenseman in 1992. "He looked at us, and he said 'whether you know it or not, you guys are the ones who are going to win the national championship.' We were like, 'sure, whatever.' "
The 1989 season saw Princeton improve to 6-8, and the Tigers broke through in 1990, reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time ever and defeating Johns Hopkins before losing to Yale in the quarterfinals. The 1991 season ended in heartbreaking style, as the Tigers lost 14-13 to Towson State in the quarterfinals in three overtimes.
Princeton defeated Syracuse 10-9 in double overtime to win the 1992 national title, and the Tigers gave Tierney his second championship on Memorial Day 1994 with a 9-8 overtime win over Virginia. The Tigers again defeated Virginia in overtime in 1996 and then tied the largest victory margin in the championship game in 1997's 19-7 win over Maryland. Title No. 5 was a 15-5 win over Maryland in 1998.
Tierney has led Princeton to the NCAA championship game each of the last three years, winning title No. 6 with a 10-9 overtime win over Syracuse in 2001 and falling to the Orangemen in 2000 and 2002.
After helping Cortland State to the USILA college division championship as a senior in 1973, Tierney began his head coaching career at Great Neck South High on Long Island in 1976. He moved to Levittown High in 1980, and he went from there to his first college stop, Rochester Institute of Technology.
Tierney won 10, 12 and 15 games in his three seasons at RIT, taking the school to its first two NCAA tournaments in 1983 and 1984.
His next stop was Baltimore, where he served as an assistant at Johns Hopkins for three years. Tierney helped Hopkins to the national title in 1985 and 1987 and the national semifinals in 1986. He also coached the Blue Jay's men's soccer team, guiding the team to the 1986 NCAA Division III tournament for its first NCAA bid in 11 years. He did this despite having almost no soccer background.
Tierney left Hopkins in 1988 to become the ninth head coach of lacrosse at Princeton. The Tigers had won just five Ivy League games in the four years before Tierney became coach, but he led Princeton to the NCAA tournament in his third season.
Tierney won the Morris Touchstone Award as the Division I Coach of the Year in 1992. He also was named the 1983 Division III Coach of the Year, and he earned Nassau County Coach of the Year honors at both high schools. He was elected to the Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997 and the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1999.
Tierney has recruited and coached two winners of the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award as the national player of the year (David Morrow in 1993 and Scott Bacigalupo in 1994).
He has coached 20 first-team All-Americas and 57 first-team All-Ivy League players at Princeton. He has also coached 15 USILA Scholar All-Americas and 14 winners of USILA national awards.
Tierney and his wife Helen have four children: Trevor (22), Brendan (21), Courtney (20) and Brianne (18). Trevor was a first-team All-America and the national goalie of the year last year before graduating from Princeton with two NCAA championship rings. He is currently a member of the U.S. national team. Brendan, who graduated in 2002, was an attackman/middie for the Tigers who scored the game-winning goal in Princeton's 12-11 win over Virginia in the 2000 NCAA semifinals. Courtney, a 1,700-point scorer in high school, is a basketball player at Franklin & Marshall. Brianne will play lacrosse at Loyola beginning next year.
Bill Tierney, Year-by-Year
Year School Record Finish
1982 RIT 10-2
1983 RIT 11-3 NCAA quarterfinals
1984 RIT 13-2 NCAA semifinals
1988 Princeton 2-13
1989 Princeton 6-8
1990 Princeton 11-5 NCAA quarterfinals
1991 Princeton 12-3 NCAA quarterfinals
1992 Princeton 13-2 NCAA champion, Ivy League champion
1993 Princeton 13-2 NCAA semifinals, Ivy League champion
1994 Princeton 14-1 NCAA champion
1995 Princeton 11-4 NCAA quarterfinals, Ivy League champion
1996 Princeton 14-1 NCAA champion, Ivy League champion
1997 Princeton 15-0 NCAA champion, Ivy League champion
1998 Princeton 14-1 NCAA champion, Ivy League champion
1999 Princeton 9-4 NCAA first round, Ivy League champion
2000 Princeton 12-3 NCAA runner-up, Ivy League champion
2001 Princeton 14-1 NCAA champion, Ivy League champion
2002 Princeton 10-5 NCAA runner-up, Ivy League champion
At Princeton 170-53 .762 winning percentage
Overall 204-60 .773 winning percentage
NCAA DI tourn. 25-7 .781 winning percentage
Members of the 45th class of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame:
Nancy Vadney Chance
Zack Colburn
Heather Dow
Delvern (Del) Dressel
Eleanor "Pete" Kay Hess
Sandra Kay Hoody
Gerard (Roddy) Marino
George McGeeney
William (Bill) Tierney
Julie R. Williams