Lars Tiffany

Lars Tiffany (born 1968) is an American lacrosse coach. He is the current head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse program at the University of Virginia. Tiffany has led Virginia to back-to-back national titles (the 2019 NCAA Lacrosse Championship and the 2021 NCAA Lacrosse Championship, after the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19).[1][2] He was named 2019 ACC Coach of the Year.[3] As with his predecessor Dom Starsia, Tiffany came to Virginia after coaching his alma mater at Brown. There, he was the 2015 and 2016 Ivy League Coach of the Year. On November 1, 2022, he was named as the head coach for the Haudenosaunee men's national lacrosse team for the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship.[4][5]

Lars Tiffany
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamVirginia
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record67–26 (.720)
Biographical details
Born (1968-06-15) June 15, 1968
LaFayette, New York
Playing career
1986–1990Brown
Position(s)Defenseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2005–2006Stony Brook
2007–2016Brown
2017–presentVirginia
Head coaching record
Overall154–87 (.639)
Tournaments6–4 (.600)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards
  • 2019 ACC Coach of the Year
  • 2016 Ivy League Coach of the Year
  • 2015 Ivy League Coach of the Year

Early life

Born in LaFayette, New York,[6] Tiffany attended LaFayette High School, where he played football, basketball, as well as lacrosse. At Lafayette he was classmates with members of the Onondaga nation which strengthened his love for lacrosse, a sport that their indigenous ancestors pioneered.[7] In 1986, he enrolled at Brown University, where he played lacrosse and served as captain for two years. He played in the NCAA tournament in 1987 and 1990. In 1990, he was selected to play in the annual North-South Senior All-Star Game.[8]

Coaching career

Stevenson School

After graduating from Brown with a degree in Biology, Tiffany accepted a teaching and coaching position at the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California.

Lemoyne College

Tiffany's first foray into college coaching was as an assistant coach for the women's team at LeMoyne College in his hometown of Syracuse NY.

Washington & Lee University

Lars' first men's collegiate coaching position was with the Washington and Lee Generals in the 1997 and 1998 seasons where he was an assistant for Premier Lacrosse League champion and current head coach of the Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club, Jim Stagnitta.

Dartmouth College

Lars returned to Division 1 lacrosse and the Ivy League when he became an assistant coach for the men's lacrosse program at Dartmouth College for the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Penn State

Lars spent four years at Penn State (2000–2004) as the top assistant under head coach Glenn Thiel.

Stony Brook

Tiffany had his first position as a head coach for the Stony Brook Seawolves men's lacrosse program in 2005 and 2006. In 2005 he was named the America East Conference coach of the year.

Brown University

Tiffany was the head lacrosse coach from 2007–2016 at his alma mater. During this time he amassed a 95-56 record, won the Ivy League Championship four times (2008, 2010, 2015, and 2016), and made the NCAA tournament three times, going as far as the Final Four in 2016, his final season.

University of Virginia

Tiffany became the 17th head coach of the Virginia men’s lacrosse program on June 21, 2016.[9]

During Tiffany’s first season at UVA, his Cavalier offense finished No. 1 in the ACC and No. 3 in the nation in three offensive categories: goals per game (14.40), assists per game (9.13) and points per game (23.53). Aitken shattered UVA’s freshmen midfielder record of 29 goals and 40 points. Aitken broke the goals record in eight games. Attackman Kraus was named ACC Freshman of the Year and was the only rookie on the All-ACC team after leading UVA with 34 goals and 56 points.

In 2018, Tiffany’s Cavalier team ranked No. 1 nationally in ground balls (38.0). Defensively in 2017, Virginia led the nation with 43.33 ground balls per game, averaging nearly seven more ground balls per game then No. 2 Brown (36.56), Tiffany’s previous program. Prior to Tiffany coming to UVA, his Brown squad in 2016 led the nation in ground balls as Tiffany’s staff three years in a row has led the nation’s best team on the ground.

In 2018, Tiffany’s Cavaliers were No. 5 nationally in assists (7.72), No. 7 in points per game (20.33) and No. 7 in scoring offense (12.61). Michael Kraus became the third Cavalier in program history to reach 80 points in a season, finishing with 83, ranking No. 8 nationally. First-team All-American midfielder Dox Aitken set a midfielder program record with 51 points in 2018. In 2018, the Cavaliers were runners-up in the ACC tournament.

In 2019, the Cavaliers won both the ACC tournament as well as the NCAA Tournament. This marked the sixth NCAA tournament championship for the University of Virginia, and Tiffany's first as a head coach.

In 2021, Tiffany led the Cavaliers back to the national championship game defeating top-seeded North Carolina in the national semifinals. In the final, Virginia defeated the previously undefeated (and historic rivals) Maryland Terrapins 17–16 to earn Tiffany back-to-back NCAA Championships and the ninth national title overall for Virginia men's lacrosse.

Personal life

Tiffany resides in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife and their child. He has been a vegetarian for over thirty years.

References
  1. "Virginia Tops Yale for 6th Lacrosse Championship". ESPN via Associated Press. May 28, 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  2. "Virginia men's lacrosse holds off Maryland in final seconds to win national title, 17-16, ending Terps quest for perfect season". Baltimore Sun. May 31, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  3. "Virginia's Lars Tiffany named ACC Coach of the Year". SB Nation. 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  4. Dejohn, Kenny (2022-11-02). "Lars Tiffany Named Head Coach of Haudenosaunee Nationals". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  5. Newton, Matt. "Lars Tiffany Named Head Coach of the Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Team". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  6. "LaFayette native Lars Tiffany wins first national championship with Virginia". LocalSYR. 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  7. Tiffany's father owned a ranch adjacent to Onondaga land that also had wild buffalo on. His father made a treaty with the Onondagans to allow eleven of his buffalo to live on their land with all of the calves born to stay on their land."Timeline".
  8. "USILA North South Rosters" (PDF). USILA. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  9. "Lars Tiffany - Men's Lacrosse Coach". University of Virginia Athletic Department. 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
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