Courtesy of Marian University
FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- Marian University Director of Athletics Jason Bartelt as announced the hiring of Robert Leary to take over the Marian University men's lacrosse program.
"I am honored to announce Robert Leary as our next head men's lacrosse coach," commented Bartelt. "After a thorough search filled with a lot of quality candidates, Bob rose to the top with his tremendous coaching background and lacrosse expertise. We are looking forward to him continuing to build on the solid foundation of our men's lacrosse program and also establishing the sport of lacrosse in the Fond du Lac area."
Leary was a long-time head coach at the State University of New York at Delhi where he also served as a head women's soccer coach. During his tenure, he was named the Mountain Valley Conference Coach of the Year four times and also earned the Scott D. Livie Award in 2012, awarded to the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Junior College National Coach of the Year. In 2014, Leary helped lead both the men's lacrosse and women's soccer programs to the national tournament. Leary went on to coach two All-Americans and also helped lead the Bronco program to have 31 student-athletes earn academic All-American honors.
He also spent a significant amount of time with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) during his time at SUNY Delhi and most notably served as the president of Region III for the Lacrosse Coaches Association and the NJCAA for five years. Leary played a significant role in the establishment of the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Region III All-Star game.
"I would like to thank Dr. Andrew Manion, Jason Bartelt and the entire search committee for offering me the chance to become a Marian Sabre," commented Leary. "I was blown away by the university, the people and the beautiful Fond Du Lac area. There is no place I would rather be and I can't wait to get started with the continued development of the program."
During the past season, Leary served as an assistant coach for perennial powerhouse Onondaga Community College. Onondaga went on to win their 11th national championship since 2006 and at the end of the season had six student-athletes earn first-team All-American awards to go with three second-team honorees. Leary also spent some time with the Iroquois Nation U19 World Championship lacrosse team helping lead them to a bronze medal in 2008. He would also serve as an assistant general manager for the team in 2010.
"We are very excited to bring coach Leary to Marian University," commented Marian University president Andrew Manion. "His extensive experience in collegiate lacrosse and his passion for the game will serve our players well as we build on our strong first year. I also anticipate that he will raise awareness and excitement for lacrosse within the Fond du Lac community."
Leary has past experience with new programs having helped establish the men's lacrosse program for NCAA Division III SUNY Institute of Technology. In his six seasons at the helm, he controlled all facets of the program and also ran a 12-team fall lacrosse tournament.