Byron Collins will be in his tenth season as the head men’s lacrosse coach at Stevens Institute of Technology when the Ducks take the field for the 125th straight year in 2009. During his time at the helm, Stevens has amassed an overall record of 99-47, which places Collins 13th on the all-time list for career winning percentage (.678) across all sports at the Institute. He is also second amongst all men’s lacrosse coaches at Stevens in terms of overall wins.
Including a one-year stint at Greensboro College in 1998, Collins is 108-51 in ten full seasons as a head coach. He registered his 100th victory when Stevens defeated Montclair State University in the finals of the 2007 ECAC Division III Metro Championship on May 13.
Over the course of his first nine seasons with the Ducks, Collins recorded six Knickerbocker Lacrosse Conference titles, a 59-7 regular-season record in league play and a string of six straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2001-06. Along the way, he was named the conference’s coach of the year in 2001 and 2004. Collins has also helped produce 14 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-Americans over the past five seasons. Prior to his arrival, Stevens had not had an All-American since 1968.
When Collins first took over as head coach in 2000, he inherited a program that had suffered through 11 losing seasons in the previous 13 years. After enduring a 3-11 record during his initial rebuilding year, Collins quickly reversed the team’s fortunes as he guided the Ducks to a 12-4 mark in 2001. During that season, the Ducks captured their first Knickerbocker title and became the first team in school history to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament during the modern era.
Not resting on this success, Collins directed Stevens to its second consecutive Knickerbocker championship and subsequent NCAA berth in 2002. With a third-straight conference title and NCAA bid in 2003, Stevens extended its Knickerbocker winning streak to 22 games. Collins also led the team to its third-straight double-digit win season against a schedule that ranked among the toughest in program history.
In 2004, the Ducks continued their rise nationally as they finished the campaign with a 13-3 mark and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. In the process, Stevens earned a No. 19 national ranking in the final coaches’ poll. Collins was also selected as the co-head coach of the North squad for the annual USILA North-South Senior game.
During the 2005 season, Stevens posted a 13-4 record and No. 10 national ranking. Along the way, the Ducks reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before suffering a close 13-10 decision at fifth-ranked Nazareth College. Then, in 2006, Stevens captured the Knickerbocker title once again and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual national champion SUNY Cortland.
The 2007 campaign marked the final year of competition for the Ducks in the Knickerbocker Conference before moving into the Empire 8. Following a 9-0 mark in league play during the regular season, Stevens advanced to the finals of the postseason tournament where it lost to the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
After earning the top seed in the ECAC Tournament, the Ducks captured their first-ever ECAC title with victories over Kean University and Montclair. Stevens finished the year with a program-best 16-4 mark and produced three All-Americans.
In 2008, a young Stevens team competed in the Empire 8 for the first time and went 6-2 in the league and earned the second seed in the conference tournament. The Ducks fell in the conference semifinals but are eager for the 2009 campaign to begin.
During his playing days, Collins was a standout midfielder at Whittier College where he helped lead the Poets to a 54-4 record and three straight West Coast Lacrosse League titles. At one point, Whittier ranked as high as No. 17 in the country, which at the time was the highest national ranking in the history of the program.
Shortly after completing his playing career at Whittier, Collins entered the coaching ranks as an assistant at Roxbury High School in New Jersey. From 1995-97, Collins served as the top assistant coach and offensive coordinator at Roanoke College in Virginia. During his stay there, he helped the Maroons to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. Roanoke ranked as high as fourth in the country during the 1997 season.
In 1998, Collins was given his first collegiate head coaching job as he took over at Greensboro in North Carolina. During his one-year stint with the Pride, Collins guided the team to a 9-4 mark and No. 19 national ranking.
Throughout his professional career, Collins has served on the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Advisory Committee, USILA All-American Committee, USILA All-American Regional Sub-Committee and USILA Poll Committee. Collins currently serves as the Division III representative on the Executive Committee for the USILA and is the Men’s Lacrosse Committee Chair for the Empire 8.
A native of Long Valley, N.J., Collins serves as the NCAA Compliance Officer at Stevens. He and his wife, Laura, reside in Succasunna, N.J. with their three children, Bailey Anne, Elle and Gavin.
