Sally Starr Position: Head Coach

Over the course of 26 seasons as the head coach of the highly successful Boston University field hockey program, Sally Starr has certainly established herself as one of the finest coaches in the nation.

A veteran of nine NCAA tournament appearances as the coach of the Terriers, Starr is 14th all-time in career wins among college coaches with 330. Last season, she earned her 300th win at BU following the Terriers' 2-0 home victory over Massachusetts on Sept. 17.

Her teams have posted winning records in 20 of the past 23 seasons and have been ranked among the top programs in the country since the mid 1980s.

The 2006 campiagn marked the second time in program history that Starr has guided the Terriers to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament, as they also performed the feat in 1999 and 2000.

In 2005, Starr guided the Terriers to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000, posting a 16-6 mark to tie the school record for wins in a season. BU dropped a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker to Big Ten champion Michigan in the NCAA First Round, but in the process, the Terriers proved that they belong among the nation's top programs. For her efforts, Starr was named the Dita/NFHCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year for the first time in her career.

Starr has posted an impressive 311-195-19 record in her tenure at Boston University, which includes nine NCAA tournament appearances, three ECAC Tournament appearances, the 1987 ECAC Championship, six America East championships, nine America East regular-season titles and 11 appearances in the conference title game.

Under Starr's guidance, the program has been remarkably stable over the past quarter-century. Since 1985, the Terriers have finished the season ranked in the top 20 16 times, and have finished in the top 10 six times. In 1985, Starr led BU to its best finish ever, a 17-4-2 record and a trip to the NCAA semifinals. The Terriers wrapped up that season ranked fourth in the country after nearly making it to the championship game - falling to eventual national champion Connecticut, 2-1.

Including the two years she spent as head coach of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., Starr has totaled a 330-209-21 coaching record. She earned her 250th overall coaching win with a 5-1 victory against Vermont on Sept. 27, 2000, and reached the 300-win mark on Nov. 5, 2004, with a 3-0 home victory over New Hampshire in the America East semifinals.

The 1996 season ranks among the most successful in Starr's tenure as well. Boston University established a school record with 16 regular-season wins and equaled the mark for overall wins with a 17-5 mark. The Terriers won their fifth America East regular-season title, received the program's fifth bid to the NCAA tournament, and finished the year ranked eighth in the nation.

The Terriers have been a frequent participant in national and regional tournaments. In 1987, Starr directed the club to the ECAC tournament title. In 1989, the Terriers made their second appearance in the NCAA tournament, and in 1991, the Terriers advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

ALL-AMERICANS

During her 24 years at the Division I level (BU gained Division I status in 1983), Starr has coached 28 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Americans, including five first-team selections, and 57 of her players have earned a combined 96 All-Region selections. Six of her players have received America East Player of the Year honors, and six were conference Rookies of the Year. Terrier players have earned first or second team all-conference honors a total of 75 times. Under Starr's guidance, 10 Terriers have been elected to the BU Athletic Hall of Fame. In recognition of her efforts, Starr was named America East Coach of the Year five times (1991, 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2004). In 1994, she received the William French Award from Boston University's Hall of Fame. This award is presented annually for excellence in the coaching profession.

Starr began her coaching career at the University of New Hampshire in 1978. While earning her master's degree, she served as the head coach of the Wildcat junior varsity field hockey team and as an assistant coach with the women's lacrosse team. The following year, she began a two-year stint as the head coach at Bucknell.

PERSONAL

A native of Camp Hill, Pa., Starr played scholastically at Shawnee High School in Medford Lakes, N.J., and was one of the school's inaugural Hall of Fame members at an induction ceremony last September.

In 1978, Starr went on to graduate from Ursinus College, where she guided the field hockey team to three consecutive AIAW Division I championship matches. She also earned varsity letters in basketball and lacrosse and was inducted into the Ursinus Hall of Fame in 1994.

Following graduation, she was selected to the U.S. Field Hockey Team and participated in the 1978 and 1979 National Sports Festivals. She was also a member of the national lacrosse team in 1978.

An active member of the national field hockey community, Starr coaches at U.S. Development programs and camps, and is a member of the U.S. Field Hockey Association. In 1998, she served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team, which competed in the World Cup in the Netherlands.

Sally Starr's Year-by-Year Coaching Record