SOUTH HADLEY, MA – Trinity College men's lacrosse coach Jason Tarnow has been named the next president of the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA), and will step into the role effective immediately.
Tarnow, who is about to enter his ninth season as coach of the Bantams, takes over the presidency from Tim Murphy, who stepped aside from coaching after recent stints at Curry College and Johnson & Wales University.
"It is an honor to serve as President of the NEILA," expressed Tarnow. "New England has a rich lacrosse tradition, and the NEILA has long been an important part of that history. Through this unique organization, we are able to recognize the student-athletes and coaches who represent our member institutions, and we are fortunate to have a platform that celebrates their achievements."
Since arriving in Hartford, Tarnow has compiled a 33-38 record which includes a pair of NESCAC tournament appearances. Last season, the Bantams posted a 9-8 record and earned the second NCAA tournament berth in program history. Trinity earned a national tournament victory by defeating Farmingdale State 13-6 before falling 11-8 to #10 York College (PA) in the second round. Tarnow mentored All-Americans in Scott Morgan, Harrison Ike, Johnny Cowdrick, Peter Cannan and Jordan Opdahl.
Tarnow was hired as the first head coach in program history for Baldwin-Wallace in 2012, where he built the program into a perennial championship contender in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). He led the Yellow Jackets to the OAC semifinals in four consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2017, and to a regular-season co-championship title in 2016. Under Tarnow's guidance, the Yellow Jackets boasted the top-ranked scoring defense in all of Division III lacrosse for his last three seasons, including an average of nearly 13 points per game in 2017. Tarnow, who has served on the USILA All-American Committee, was named the OAC Co-Coach of the Year in his final spring after leading Baldwin Wallace to a 12-3 overall record and 7-1 mark in conference play.
Tarnow was also the head men's lacrosse coach at The College of Wooster for nine seasons, where his teams never had a losing season and posted a 72-51 record with a .577 winning percentage. He was selected the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Coach of the Year in 2004, after his team won the school's first conference title and reached its first NCAA Tournament. Tarnow boasts a career record of 162-121 in 19 seasons at the three schools. Tarnow also served as an assistant coach at Butler University and at his alma mater, Salisbury University. He was the defensive coordinator at Butler where he coached two players who were named to the USILA North-South All-Star game and helped lead Salisbury to the NCAA Division III National Championship game in 2000.
As a player at Salisbury, where he earned a bachelor's degree in communications, Tarnow was a two-time USILA All-American and ranks in the top ten all-time in saves. He was named the 1998 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Player of the Year as well as the MVP of the 1999 National Champion team. Prior to Salisbury, Tarnow was a two-year starter at Michigan State before the program was cut in the winter of 1997. He is ranked in the top ten in all time saves for the Spartans.
"I am eager not only to uphold the great tradition of lacrosse in New England, but also to continue growing the association and strengthening the NEILA brand," added Tarnow. "I look forward to working with all of you as we take these steps together."
Tarnow will work over the coming weeks to fill out the rest of the NEILA board. If you are interested in getting involved with the organization, he can be reached at jason.tarnow@trincoll.edu.
