Men’s Lacrosse Receives James “Ace” Adams Sportsmanship Award

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's lacrosse team has been named one of 11 recipients of the James "Ace" Adams Sportsmanship Award for the 2015 lacrosse season by the US Lacrosse Men's Collegiate Officials Committee. 

Initiated in 2006, the James "Ace" Adams Sportsmanship Award is presented annually to the college or university in each of the 11 officiating districts whose coaches, players, and fans exhibit the best sportsmanship throughout the season. Recipients are selected by collegiate lacrosse game officials.

"We are honored to be one of the 2015 recipients of the Ace Adams Award as it recognizes qualities and characteristics that the Endicott Community and men's lacrosse program strive to embody," said Endicott men's lacrosse head coach Eric Hagarty '10. "I am extremely proud to coach this group of men and this award is a credit to not only them, but also our athletic department, especially Kevin Bettencourt, Brittany Hutchinson, Mark Kulakowski, and Evan McDermott '04, along with our alumni, our fans and all of those who support us here on campus."

Both college varsity (NCAA) and club (MCLA) programs are eligible for consideration, with the winners selected by voting among each districts' officials who are members of the National Intercollegiate Lacrosse Officials Association (NILOA).

The award exemplifies the tradition of sportsmanship in lacrosse displayed by Ace Adams, who amassed 284 collegiate victories during a coaching career that spanned across five decades and included stints at the United States Military Academy (Army), University of Pennsylvania and University of Virginia. At the time of his retirement in 1992, Adams had the most wins of any active NCAA Division I coach. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1975.

The winners of the 2015 James "Ace" Adams Sportsmanship Awards are:
District 1 – Endicott College – Head Coach Eric Hagarty
District 2 – Colgate University - Head Coach Mike Murphy
District 3 – Wagner College – Head Coach Matt Poskay
District 4 – Lynchburg College – Head Coach Steve Koudelka
District 5 – Lincoln Memorial University – Head Coach Ryan Kuhn
District 6 – Albion College – Head Coach Jacob DeCola
District 7 – Winona State University – Head Coach Cory Childs
District 8 – Oklahoma University – Head Coach Brendan Klein
District 9 – Colorado State University-Pueblo – Head Coach Sean Blair
District 10 - University of Arizona – Head Coach Derek Pedrick
District 11 – Pacific Lutheran University – Head Coach Greg Gutherless

District I is comprised of all New England NCAA Division I, II, and III programs and all club (MCLA) programs as well. The states that makeup the other ten districts mentioned above can be found here: US Lacrosse District Map.

"The schools being honored with the Ace Adams Award have demonstrated the ability to treat all involved in the game with respect," said Tom Sutton, chair of the US Lacrosse men's game officials' subcommittee. "Sportsmanship is achieved when participants treat others the way they themselves would be like to be treated, regardless of the level of competition. NILOA and US Lacrosse thank these institutions for their commitment to sportsmanship."

This year's winners will be recognized at the 2016 US Lacrosse National Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center, January 22-24.

Endicott went 16-4 overall and 8-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play last season en route to capturing its eighth conference championship with a 13-12 victory over Western New England University in the CCC Tournament title game. The Gulls' 2015 came to a close in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as the Blue and Green fell to No. 10 nationally ranked Cortland by a 13-6 score.