Castleton, Vt. – Vermont State University Castleton has named Ed Stephenson as its men's lacrosse head coach. Castleton Director of Athletics Tim Barrett made the announcement on Wednesday, August 30.
"We're excited to have Ed on board to lead the men's lacrosse program," said Barrett. "He has a long history of coaching the game at a high level and we feel that his coaching philosophy, energy, and outlook will be a great fit at Castleton."
Stephenson has spent nearly three decades coaching collegiate lacrosse, including 19 seasons as a head coach. During his lengthy tenure at Division I, Stephenson's teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament on five occasions and made 10 appearances in the America East Tournament. Stephenson's focus on academics pairs well with the NCAA Division III model, as his programs have historically thrived in the classroom by earning top academic team accolades a total of 10 times across two different America East institutions.
His NCAA Division I stops include University of Maryland Baltimore County, Binghamton University, Towson, and UMass Lowell. At both Binghamton and UMass Lowell, Stephenson built the programs from scratch. Stephenson is also involved as an advocate for the game of lacrosse, spending time as a member of the NCAA Rules Committee, the USILA Rankings Committee, the Tewaaraton Award Committee and the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee.
"I'd like to thank Tim Barrett, the search committee, and all of the coaches and staff I met on my visit," said Stephenson. "I am so impressed with the people of VTSU Castleton and I'm looking forward to working alongside them."
"I'm excited to meet the team, parents, and alumni and build on the incredible Spartan pride that is already in place," Stephenson continued. "We will begin working immediately with the team to establish our core values, leadership objectives, and our team standards."
On top of his lengthy coaching career, Stephenson was a highly-regarded collegiate player at Towson, earning All-America honors before playing professional indoor lacrosse following his graduation. In 1991, Stephenson represented Team USA at the Summer International Exhibition Tournament where the team went unbeaten to claim the tournament championship.
"Castleton has a unique appeal being one of the absolute greatest destinations for outdoors enthusiasts," Stephenson said. "I look forward to introducing talented young men to the adventure that awaits: great academic challenges, competitive lacrosse in an excellent conference, and the pursuit of their passions. I'm thrilled for the opportunity to guide the program into the future."
Stephenson will officially begin on Tuesday, September 5.
