Jan. 29, 2002
Audio From Interview With GoLeopards.com:
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette men's lacrosse coach Bill Lawson announced today that he will retire following the 2002 season, ending a 37-year career at the College in which he coached three different sports.
One of the most well respected lacrosse coaches in the nation, Lawson will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame on Saturday, Feb. 9, at a celebration banquet held in Malvern, Pa. at The Desmond Hotel. The induction, which is presented by the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association, puts one of the finishing touches on a distinguished career at Lafayette.
"When I came to Lafayette in 1965, I thought I would be here for a couple of years," recalled Lawson. "After 37 years, I look back on the relationships that I was fortunate to have with the Lafayette student-athletes, faculty and staff. I leave with many fantastic memories."
"Lafayette is obviously losing a tremendously talented and veteran coach in Bill Lawson. He has been an outstanding ambassador for Lafayette and the game of lacrosse," said Bruce McCutcheon, Lafayette's director of athletics. "We wish him the best in his retirement following the season."
Lawson is about to enter his 31st and final campaign on College Hill as the winningest men's lacrosse coach in school history. The 1991 Patriot League Coach of the Year has coached more than 65 percent of the program's all-time victories.
In 2001, Lawson was one of a select few coaches who helped coach at the U.S. National Team tryouts for the 2002 International Lacrosse Federation World Championships. Lawson coached one of six teams at the U.S. National Team tryouts June 14-17 at the University of Delaware.
Off the field, Lawson has coached in the annual North-South All-Star game twice, most recently in the summer of 1997, in addition to working the event in 1989. He also annually serves as a clinician at the NCAA-sponsored YES (Youth Education through Sports) Clinic held in conjunction with the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships.
Lawson's lifetime of contributions to lacrosse have not gone unnoticed, as he was selected as the recipient of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's "Howdy Myers Man of the Year Award" in 2000. The annual award is presented by the USILA to the person who has contributed to the game of lacrosse in a capacity over and above the normal efforts and has shown unselfish and undying devotion.
A 1959 graduate of Springfield College, Lawson joined the Lafayette coaching staff in 1965 as both the swimming and tennis head coach before assuming the men's lacrosse post in 1972. He retained the swimming position until 1986 and is in his final season as the school's diving coach. The Wilmington, Del. native earned a master's degree from Westfield State College.
Lawson and his wife, Peggy, reside on College Hill.
Lawson joins Vonnie Gros, Jo Ann Harper, Jacqueline Hufnell, William Miller, James Noyes, Kevin Ryan, Agnes Stegmuller and Cindy Timchall as the 2002 inductees into the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Ticket order forms can be secured by calling John Linehan at (610) 688-0140.
