Furman Names Richie Meade Men’s Lacrosse Coach


Furman University director of athletics Dr. Gary Clark announced today that U.S. men’s national senior team coach Richie Meade has been named the school’s first men’s head lacrosse coach.

The announcement was made by Clark and Furman president Rod Smolla at a press conference at Gillette Stadium, site of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship.

Furman, a private, co-educational university of 2,700 students in Greenville, S.C., and member of the Southern Conference, announced on Feb. 9 that it would add men’s and women’s lacrosse to its Division I athletics program. The teams will begin varsity competition by the 2014-15 academic year.

“Richie Meade is the ideal person to jump start our new men’s lacrosse program at Furman,” Clark said. “He sports a tremendous combination of experience and leadership to help grow lacrosse in a non-traditional area of the country. We are thrilled to have Richie join the Furman family.”

Said Meade, “My family and I are very excited with the opportunity to join the Furman community. I am grateful to President Smolla and Gary Clark for their faith and trust in me. We will build our program with integrity, substance, and toughness. Our goal will be to compete with passion, skill and honor, and to graduate individuals who will make a difference in the world and reflect the values of a great American university.”

Meade was named head coach of the U.S. men’s national senior team by US Lacrosse in December. He is the 12th head coach in the history of the men’s senior team program, and he will lead Team USA in its title defense at the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship in Denver, Colo., July 10-19.

“We are very pleased that such a well-respected and highly qualified coach as Richie Meade has agreed to lead our men’s lacrosse program,” said Smolla. “His connections in the sport are unparalleled, and he has enjoyed great success in coaching and recruiting at the national level. We welcome Richie and his family to the Furman community, and we look forward to seeing the men’s lacrosse program grow and prosper under his guidance.”

A 35-year veteran of collegiate coaching, Meade most recently served as head coach for the United States Naval Academy men’s team from 1994-2011, where he led the Midshipmen to a 142-97 (.589) record. In his 21-year career as a head coach, including four years at the University of Baltimore, Meade compiled a 162-120 (.585) ledger.

During Meade’s head coaching tenure at Navy, his teams claimed five Patriot League regular season and tournament titles, appeared in seven NCAA tournaments, and racked up 39 All-America citations. In 2004, Navy advanced to the national championship game and Meade was honored with the Morris Touchstone Memorial Award as National Coach of the Year. He also was twice named Patriot League Coach of the Year (2004 & ’07).

Meade began his coaching career as an assistant at Duke University in 1977. Following a two-year stint in Durham, he moved on to the University of North Carolina, where he served as an assistant for one year before accepting his first head coaching job at the University of Baltimore (1980-83). In 1984 he was named defensive coordinator at Navy (1984-88) before returning to Chapel Hill (1989-90) for a two-year stint as offensive coordinator. He accepted the same post, as well as an instructor’s role in physical education, at the United States Military Academy in 1991, remaining there for three seasons, before returning to Navy as head coach in 1994, becoming the seventh lacrosse mentor in school history.

In addition his coaching duties with the Midshipmen, he also served as a tenured professor of physical education and is a Senior Fellow at the Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the Naval Academy.

He has served the sport in a variety of administrative positions, including the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Rules Advisory Committee, U.S. Lacrosse Men’s Coaches Council, and NCAA Rules and Equipment Committee. Since 2005, he has been president of the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) and over the last two years has served as executive director of the Wounded Warrior Project Lacrosse.

A native of Williston Park, N.Y., Meade attended and played lacrosse at Nassau (N.Y.) Community College. He then transferred to the University of North Carolina, from which he graduated with a B.A. in 1976 with a degree in parks and recreation administration. He later added an M.S. from UNC in 1979.

Meade is a member of both the New York Metropolitan Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame and University of Baltimore Athletic Hall of Fame.

He and his wife, Sue, have three daughters: Jillian, Shannon Grace, and Cassidy.

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