Hofstra Extends Head Coach Tierney’s Contract

The Hofstra Pride are keeping longtime head coach Seth Tierney for a few more seasons.

Per a press release, the Tierney agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the university. No details of the agreement have been made public, and they usually never are.

Last year, Tierney helped the Pride get as far up as second in the media and coaches polls, earning wins over North Carolina, Princeton, and Providence. Hofstra began the season 10-0, before losing three of their final four games of the season. He produced two USILA All-American selections in goaltender Jack Concannon and attackman Josh Byrne.

He’s earned 98 wins in his career as Hofstra’s head coach, and went to four straight NCAA Tournaments from 2008 until 2011. He won the CAA championship in 2008.

Before his head coaching gig with the Pride, he was an assistant for six seasons in Hempstead, before leaving for his alma mater, Johns Hopkins, for a span of six years as their offensive coordinator. He was their associate head coach for the last two seasons.

Hofstra has not made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2011, but they’ve come very close in recent years. They lost to Drexel in the 2014 CAA Championship in double overtime, came up short against Fairfield in the 2016 CAA semifinals, and were upset on a buzzer-beating goal by UMass in this year’s CAA semifinals.

Who knows how long this multi-year extension is. Considering Hofstra hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2011 and they haven’t won a league championship since 2008, is the clock ticking on Tierney? He’s been getting quality players for the Pride in recent years (his son Ryan Tierney, Byrne, Concannon just to name a few) and has players such as Dylan Alderman, and Brendan Kavanagh all back for 2018. I’m not sure how Towson will be with the number of losses they will have on offense and a few on defense, but this should be the year the Pride can overcome both of those droughts. Focus on the CAA when it’s April, and get the job done during the CAA Tournament in May.

If he doesn’t, Hofstra might need to start looking at possible new head coaches.

You can read the entire press release below:

Hempstead, NY - Hofstra University Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway announced today that Head Men's Lacrosse Coach Seth Tierney has agreed to a multi-year contract extension to continue his successful coaching career with the Pride.

In 2017 Hofstra climbed as high as second in the nation in both the coaches and media polls after opening with 10 consecutive victories including wins over fifth-ranked North Carolina, Princeton and Georgetown. The Pride had two USILA All-American selections in Jack Concannon and Josh Byrne. In addition, Byrne earned CAA Player of the Year honors and Ryan Tierney earned CAA Rookie of the Year accolades to lead seven Hofstra players on the All-CAA team including five on the first team. Four student-athletes, Byrne, Concannon, Brendan Kavanagh and Brett Osman, earned All-ECAC honors and Michael Diener and Byrne were named to the USILA North-South Senior All-Star Game. The Pride finished the year with an 11-3 record and ranked 14^th in the nation in goals against average (8.79) and 17th in scoring (11.57).

"Seth is an outstanding coach as he showed again this season when our team posted a ten-game winning streak and was ranked as high as #2 in the national polls," Hathaway said. "He continues to be a tremendous representative of Hofstra University and our athletic program. His students achieve in the classroom and graduate, win games and take a true leadership role in giving back to the surrounding communities and multiple charities. We are excited to have Seth leading our lacrosse program with a focus on our competitive goals of CAA Championships and NCAA Championship play."

Tierney became the fifth head coach in the history of the Hofstra Men's Lacrosse program in August 2006. Entering his 12th season in 2018, Tierney has led the Pride to 98 victories, the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association championship, the 2009, 2011 and 2014 CAA regular season titles and berths in four consecutive NCAA Championships from 2008 through 2011. He was named the 2014 CAA Coach of the Year for the second time in his career after receiving the honor in 2008.

"I am proud to continue to lead the Hofstra Men's Lacrosse program," Tierney said. "I am grateful for the trust and support that President Stuart Rabinowitz and Jeff Hathaway have given to me with this extension. It takes great leadership to run a successful organization and we have that here at Hofstra University. I am thankful for their support as we continue to produce a quality, winning program both on the field and in the classroom."

Tierney, who served as an assistant coach at Hofstra from 1995 through 2000 before leaving for a similar position at his alma mater John Hopkins University, has seen his student-athletes earn All-American honors 13 times, pick up All-CAA honors 57 times while 21 received CAA All-Rookie team honors. In addition seven Hofstra student-athletes have been rewarded for their excellence in the classroom and the field with USILA Scholar-Athlete All-America team honors since 2007.

During his six-year tenure as an assistant with the Pride, Hofstra recorded six consecutive winning seasons with a combined overall record of 61-28 and a conference mark of 29-2, captured five league titles, received five top 15 final national rankings, and played in four NCAA Championship tournaments.Tierney also coached seven All-Americans and nearly two-dozen all-conference players during his first tenure at Hofstra. Among them was midfielder Doug Shanahan, who would receive the inaugural Tewaaraton Trophy as College Lacrosse Player of the Year, the Lt. Ray Enners Award as the Division I Player of the Year, and the Lt. Donald McLaughlin Award as the Division I Midfielder of the Year in 2001.

In 2015, Tierney was named as an assistant coach on the U.S. Lacrosse Men's National Team in preparation for the 2018 FIL Championships in Israel.