Jack Emmer

Emmer grew up in Mineola, New York and attended Rutgers University, where he played football as a wide receiver and lacrosse as a defenseman.[1] He lettered in lacrosse three times from 1965 to 1967.[2] The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association named him to the All-American second team.[1] He was voted most valuable player by his teammates and made an appearance in the North-South Senior All-Star Game upon the end of his college career in 1967.[1] Emmer was selected in the 13th round of the 1967 NFL Draft as the 327th overall pick by the New York Jets.[3]

In 1970, Emmer received his first head coaching position at Cortland State. During his three-year tenure there, he posted a 32–6 record and led the Red Dragons to an appearance in the recently established NCAA tournament in 1972.[4]

In 1973, Emmer took over as head coach at Washington and Lee. He led the Generals to six-straight NCAA tournament appearances between 1973 and 1978. In 1973, Washington and Lee finished the regular season with a perfect 14-win mark.[5] The Generals defeated Navy in overtime, 13–12, to advance to the semifinals, where they were beaten, 18–5, by Maryland.[6] The Generals again finished 1974 undefeated with a 15–0 record, and received a bid to the NCAA tournament. In the first round, they beat Navy, 11–9, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Johns Hopkins, 11–10.[6] In the 1975 NCAA tournament, Washington and Lee beat Hopkins, 11–7, at Homewood Field to end the Blue Jays' 27-game home winning streak.[5] The Generals then fell to Maryland, 15–5, in the semifinals.[6] In total, Emmer led Washington and Lee to ten NCAA tournaments.[5]

In 1984, he moved to the United States Military Academy to take over the Army lacrosse team. At West Point, he led the Black Knights to eight NCAA tournament appearances, which set a school record for a head coach.[4] He also became one of the only two head coaches to lead three different teams to the NCAA semifinals.[4] Under Emmer, Army won ten outright or shared Patriot League conference championships, including five straight from 1991 to 1995, over which period the Black Knights posted a perfect 25–0 conference record.[4] In all, Emmer recorded a 70–12 Patriot League mark.[4] Emmer was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1998.[7] In 2002, he coached an all-star collegiate United States national team to the gold medal in the World Lacrosse Championship in Perth, Australia.[4] In 2003, Emmer broke the NCAA record for wins by a coach,[5] and received the Howdy Myers Man of the Year Award.[1] Emmer retired from coaching after the 2005 season in order to spend more time with his family in Skaneateles, New York.[4]

Emmer was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2005.[1] He has also been inducted into the Charlottesville, Hudson Valley, and Long Island Metro Area US Lacrosse chapters Halls of Fame.[1]

Emmer and his wife, Joan, have two children, a son and daughter.[8] His son, Patrick, plays as a midfielder at Bryant University under head coach Mike Pressler, who played for Emmer at Washington & Lee.[9]