FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 11, 2013
Courtesy of Pace Athletics Communications
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - Pace University Director of Athletics Mark Brown has announced the hiring of Michael Spinner ‘99 as the department’s first-ever head women’s lacrosse coach. Spinner was a goalie for the Pace men’s lacrosse program from 1996-99 and brings more than a decade of experience coaching women’s lacrosse to Pace’s new program. Spinner will now be charged with fielding the first-ever women’s lacrosse team at Pace University for the spring 2015 season.
“I am humbled and honored to come home to Pace University. Ever since I began working in college athletics, it has been a dream to return to Pace and help support an athletic program that has meant so much to me for nearly 20 years. I had four of the best years of my life at Pace University thanks in large part to my teammates, coaches, and this fantastic community. Now I look forward to the opportunity to build a women’s lacrosse program that the Pace University and Northeast-10 community will be proud to call its own,” said Spinner. “I want to thank Mark Brown, and the members of the search committee for this incredible opportunity. It’s an exciting time for Pace University Athletics, and I am thrilled to join Mark and an outstanding staff to help our program forge ahead.”
Spinner, who spent the 2013 lacrosse season as Head Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse Coach at Trumbull High School in Connecticut, is no stranger to building women’s lacrosse programs at the college level. In November 2002, Spinner was hired to begin the women’s lacrosse team at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. During three varsity seasons in Riverdale, Mount Saint Vincent amassed a 30-23 overall record, and advanced to the 2005 and 2006 Skyline Conference and ECAC Metro Semifinals. During that span, Spinner coached 10 All-Conference players, and is still the program’s all-time wins leader.
“It gives me tremendous pleasure to introduce Michael Spinner as the first head coach of our new women's lacrosse program,” said Brown. “Not only is Mike an outstanding coach but he's also an experienced administrator who just happens to be a proud Pace alumnus. Mike is, without question the perfect leader to author this first chapter in our women's lacrosse story. I'm proud to welcome him back home to Pace.”
Spinner’s coaching pedigree includes stops at five High School programs, three college programs, and two club programs. As a senior at Pace in 1999, Spinner volunteered as an Assistant Coach at nearby Pleasantville High School for the program’s inaugural season. In 2000, Spinner joined former Pace University Head Coach Dan Mulholland at Manhattanville College as an Assistant Coach as Manhattanville restarted its men’s lacrosse program. Spinner also served as an Assistant Women’s Lacrosse Coach at Manhattanville during this time as well.
In 2000, Spinner moved to Salisbury University in Maryland, where he served as Assistant Men’s Lacrosse Coach and Head Women’s Club Lacrosse Coach. At Salisbury, Spinner helped guide the Sea Gulls to the NCAA Quarterfinals, while serving as goalie coach, a defensive coach, and recruiting coordinator.
At the High School ranks, Spinner guided the varsity team at Greenwich High School to a 17-4 record during the 2002 season which included a trip to the Connecticut State Finals, and a national ranking of #23 by LaxPower.com. Spinner also served as an Assistant Coach at Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Connecticut for two seasons, helping guide CSH to its first ever FairChester Athletic Association (FAA) Championship in 2003. Spinner also coached at nearby Rye High School as an Assistant Coach in 2008 and 2009, helping lead the Garnets to the 2009 Section I Championship Game. Spinner has also been a fixture on the club circuit, coaching with the now defunct Connecticut Lacrosse Futures (CTLF) Lacrosse Club from 2002-2009, and is currently a Head Coach with the Connecticut Dodgers Girls Lacrosse Club. Spinner’s resume also includes two international tours, having served as the Head Coach for Team USA on behalf of USA Athletes International during the 2006 Down Under Cup in Sydney, Australia and the 2007 Aussie Titles in Melbourne, Australia.
Presently, Spinner is a Trustee with Trumbull Youth Lacrosse where he oversees Girls’ Lacrosse development for his hometown youth lacrosse program, and is the Lacrosse Director at the Connecticut Sportsplex in North Branford, Connecticut.
Spinner has spent nearly a decade in administration, beginning with a stint as Assistant Director of Athletics and Sports Information Director at Mount Saint Vincent while serving as Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach. Most recently, Spinner served as Director of Athletics at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut, where he led the Falcons’ program to its most successful three-year run in the history of the program. He helped institute a series of capital enhancements that included a new turf field, oversaw a successful rebranding campaign, and added Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse as the department’s newest varsity sports. Spinner also worked as the Associate Director of Athletics at Yeshiva University, and Director of Athletics at Notre Dame of Maryland University. In addition to his degree at Pace, he received an M.S. in Sport Management from SUNY Cortland in 2010.
