Dave Cottle Position: Head Coach Experience: Sixth Season Alma Mater: Salisbury '78

Dave Cottle, the third winningest active coach in lacrosse, begins his sixth season at the helm of the Maryland lacrosse program. He was named the eighth coach in the storied history of Maryland lacrosse on Sept. 26, 2001, after a sensational 19-year stint as the head coach at Loyola College in Baltimore.

Cottle, 51, took the reins from the ACC's all-time winningest coach, Dick Edell, who retired on Sept. 3, 2001 after 18 years with the Terps.

He enters the 2007 season as the third winningest active coach in the sport of lacrosse, winning 72.1 percent of his games for a 238-92 record. During his five seasons in College Park a total of 19 Terrapins have earned 35 All-America selections.

Last season saw the Terps return to the NCAA Final Four for the second straight season. Cottle's squad finished the year with a 12-5 record and earned Maryland the No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament for just the second time in school history. Seven Terrapin players earned All-America honors with attackman Joe Walters and midfielder Bill McGlone being first team selections. Walters was also named the ACC Player of the Year for the second time in his career and was the winner of the Turnbull Award, which is given annually to the nation's top attackman.

In 2005 he directed Maryland to its ninth trip to the NCAA Semifinals and its second straight ACC tournament championship. The Terps ended the season with an overall record of 11-6, but finished the season winning six of their last seven games. Six Maryland players were named postseason All-Americans, including McGlone, who was a first team selection. Cottle's program also earned another honor in June of 2005 when Walters was named to the 2006 U.S. National Team, the only college player to be selected to the 23-man roster.

Cottle guided the 2004 Terps to a 13-3 record and their first ACC championship since 1998. Maryland finished the season ranked No. 3 in the USILA poll and made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. Eight Terrapin players earned All-America honors, including three first team honorees, and Lee Zink was named National Defenseman of the Year, marking the second straight season a Terp earned that honor.

In 2003 he led Maryland back to the NCAA Semifinals for the fourth time in nine years, but the first since 1998. The Terps had a stellar season finishing ranked No. 3 in the nation after being ranked in the top seven all season. Maryland piled numerous accolades as they had eight USILA All-Americans including first-team honoree and National Defenseman of the Year Michael Howley.

The Terps posted a 12-4 record in 2003 and gave Cottle his third trip to the national semifinals. He led the Greyhounds to two national semifinal appearances including an appearance in the 1990 championship game.

The backbone of Cottle's success has been his emphasis on a strong work ethic, intelligent recruiting, attention to detail, and a creative approach to the game. He also is a true believer in the concept of "student-athlete." In each of the last four years, his team's graduation rate has been 89 percent or higher. Six of Cottle's Terrapin players earned USILA Scholar All-America honors, including 2005 graduate Ian Healy, who became just the third Maryland student-athlete to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nations oldest and most prestigious academic society.

He led his Loyola teams to top-10 finishes in each his 14 seasons. The Greyhounds finished with a winning record the final 18 years of his tenure, dating to 1984. Loyola also played in 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, entering the 1998 and 1999 tournaments as the No. 1 seed.

A Baltimore native, Cottle took over a struggling Greyhound program in 1983. Since posting a first-year record of 5-9, his only losing season, Cottle's Loyola teams reeled off 18 consecutive winning seasons. The 1998 team's 13-2 campaign, which ended with a berth in the NCAA semifinals, saw Loyola reach a No. 1 national ranking, and the school's first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In 1988 the Greyhounds began their current run of 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Loyola advanced to the national championship game in 1990, and it has made 10 NCAA quarterfinal appearances. In fact, Loyola has advanced to at least the national quarterfinals in seven of the past eight seasons.

The 1990 team, a potent mix of seasoned veterans and talented underclassmen, marched all the way to the NCAA championship game after making the school's first NCAA semifinal appearance. In the semifinals the Greyhounds staged an incredible comeback to beat Yale, 14-13, in overtime and advanced to the title contest against two-time defending champion Syracuse. The Orangemen ended Loyola's quest for the national title, but the Greyhounds' 1990 season always will be remembered.

In 1994 Cottle guided the Greyhounds to one of their best seasons ever. Loyola finished 11-2, recording wins against four teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament. The Greyhounds earned the nation's No. 1 ranking for only the second time in the program's history during that memorable campaign. Loyola concluded the regular season with a 17-15 victory over Johns Hopkins, the program's first victory ever against the Blue Jays. Ranked third in the final USILA poll, the Greyhounds earned a first-round bye into the NCAA Tournament before dropping a 14-13 overtime decision to Brown in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Cottle also guided his 1988 and 1989 teams to the postseason. The 1988 squad finished with a 12-2 record, earning Loyola's first NCAA Division I tournament berth. Loyola defeated Air Force for its first NCAA postseason victory before losing to Penn in an exciting quarterfinal. The Greyhounds concluded the campaign ranked fifth in the nation, and Cottle earned USILA Coach-of-the-Year honors, becoming the first coach in Loyola athletic history to receive a national award. Cottle was selected to coach the South team in the 1988 North-South All-Star Game.

The 1989 Greyhounds became the only Loyola lacrosse team to complete an undefeated regular season. The Greyhounds beat four nationally ranked teams en route to a perfect 10-0 mark. Loyola was ranked third in the final poll, behind eventual national champion Syracuse and Johns Hopkins. A quarterfinal loss to North Carolina ended Loyola's season, but the Greyhounds captured the attention of the lacrosse world with their best record ever.

Cottle came to Loyola in 1982 after leading Severn School to a 26-9 record and consecutive Maryland Scholastic Association championships. Prior to his success at Severn, Cottle served for two years as a graduate assistant coach, assistant varsity lacrosse coach and physical education instructor at his alma mater, Salisbury State University.

One of the finest players in Salisbury State history, Cottle was enshrined into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989. During his career he re-wrote the NCAA record book, while earning All-America honors three times. He still holds many places in the Salisbury State record book, and was just the second player in collegiate lacrosse history to score over 100 points in a single season. The nation's leading scorer in 1975, he served as captain of the South team in the North-South All-Star Game.

Cottle received his bachelor of science degree in physical education in 1978 from Salisbury.

He was an assistant coach for Team USA 1994, which won the world championship in Manchester, England. Cottle has addressed many lacrosse gatherings across the country, including the USILA Coaches' Convention, and he serves as a member of the All-America Selection Committee. In February of 1998 he was inducted into the Baltimore Chapter of the Lacrosse Foundation's Hall of Fame.

A graduate of Baltimore's Northern High School, Cottle lives with his wife, Lynn, daughters, Taylor and Tory, and son, Sean, in Edgewater, Md.

Dave Cottle's Career Record
Year	School	W-L	Pct.	Postseason
1983	Loyola	5-9	.357
1984	Loyola	10-4	.714
1985	Loyola	8-5	.615
1986	Loyola	7-4	.636
1987	Loyola	8-3	.727
1988	Loyola	12-2	.857	NCAA Quarterfinals
1989	Loyola	10-1	.909	NCAA Quarterfinals
1990	Loyola	11-3	.786	NCAA Finals
1991	Loyola	9-4	.692	NCAA Quarterfinals
1992	Loyola	8-4	.667	NCAA First Round
1993	Loyola	8-5	.615	NCAA Quarterfinals
1994	Loyola	11-2	.846	NCAA Quarterfinals
1995	Loyola	11-4	.733	NCAA Quarterfinals
1996	Loyola	7-6	.538	NCAA Quarterfinals
1997	Loyola	10-4	.714	NCAA Quarterfinals
1998	Loyola	13-2	.867	NCAA Semifinals
1999	Loyola	12-1	.923	NCAA Quarterfinals
2000	Loyola	11-3	.786	NCAA First Round
2001	Loyola	10-4	.714	NCAA Quarterfinals
2002	Maryland	9-4	.692
2003	Maryland	12-4	.750	NCAA Semifinals
2004	Maryland	13-3	.813	NCAA Quarterfinals
2005	Maryland	11-6	.647	NCAA Semifinals
2006	Maryland	12-5	.706	NCAA Semifinals
Total	24 Years	238-92	.721	18 NCAA Appearances

 

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