Former U.S. Naval Academy All-American Jeff Long completed his 35th season as head men's lacrosse coach at Ithaca in 2022. Ithaca's all-time leader in coaching victories, and one of the most accomplished college lacrosse coaches in the history of the sport, Long has compiled an overall record of 355-174 during his time at Ithaca. He currently ranks ninth on the all-time list for college coaches in terms of victories across NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA levels.
Long has taken home a litany of coaching accolades during his career. He was voted the Empire 8 Coach of the Year in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014, and 2016. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Ithaca College Hall of Fame in 2010.
In 1988, Long took over a team that had gone 9-16 over the previous two seasons; four years later the Bombers were in the NCAA playoffs. The 1991 team finished 9-3, winning the program’s first ICAC championship in seven seasons and earning league coach of the year honors for Long. The next year the Bombers won the conference (EAA) title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and once again Long was named coach of the year. He was also named the Division III Coach of the Year by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) in 1992.
Long had the Bombers back in the playoff hunt in 1997, thanks in part to a seven-game winning streak. In 1998 Ithaca took the next step and reached the NCAA playoffs for the first time in six years. In 1999, the Bombers posted a 7-6 record and followed that with an 11-3 record in 2000. In 2001 the Bombers were back in the playoffs, posting a 1-1 record in the postseason. In 2002, Ithaca made the NCAA semifinals for the third time in school history. In 2003, Ithaca finished 11-3 and four Bombers were named USILA All-Americans. In 2004 the Bombers won the Empire 8 regular-season title, finishing with a 13-3 record and a year later repeated as the league's regular-season champions while posting the program's first unbeaten conference record.
The 2006 team tallied a 12-5 record, the first of four consecutive 12-win seasons. The following season, the Bombers won a fourth straight Empire 8 regular-season title and extended Ithaca’s conference record to 23 consecutive Empire 8 wins. The Bombers earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals.
The 2008 team brought the program to new heights of success. The Bombers set a school record with 17 wins and defeated RIT 12-9 to win the program's first Empire 8 title since 2002. Ithaca defeated Williams 17-10 and Western New England 13-12 to advance to the NCAA semifinals. A school-record five Bombers earned All-America honors, and for the first time two Bombers, attack Matt Nelligan and long-stick midfielder Brandon Rose, were first-team selections.
Ithaca returned to the Empire 8 playoffs each of the next six seasons (2009-14). The 2010 team, who advanced to the Empire 8 championship game, was led by goalkeeper David Gal who received USILA honorable mention All-America accolades. The Bombers returned to the Empire 8 title game in 2012, falling to ninth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology, 10-7. Ithaca upset 11th-ranked Stevens in the 2013 Empire 8 semifinals before dropping a two-goal loss at Nazareth in the title game.
In 2014, the Bombers returned to the NCAA Tournament after a five-year drought. The Bombers secured the Empire 8’s AQ with a 10-6 victory over St. John Fisher in the championship game. Ithaca defeated Montclair State, 13-4, in the first round before bowing out to RIT in the Round of 16, 20-8.
The 2016 season was one of the finest in Long's illustrious career. He led the Bombers to a program-best 20 wins during the season, which included Ithaca's third trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals during his tenure. IC won NCAA Tournament games against Morrisville (24-7) and Montclair State (11-8), before bowing out to eventual NCAA National Runner-Up Tufts in the Round of Eight. He coached seven honorees that earned distinctions from the USILA, which included the Division III Goalie of the Year in Scott Sidnam and the Division III Defender of the Year in Eli Gobrecht.
Long reached the 300-career win mark in the first game of the 2017 campaign, an emphatic 19-2 thrashing of Lycoming. The Bombers went on to post a 13-4 record during the year, which included a berth in the Semifinal Round of the Empire 8 Tournament. He guided 10 players to Empire 8 All-Conference recognitions, while five IC athletes went on to capture USILA and IMLCA All-America accolades.
The Bombers once again were successful under Long's tutelage in 2018, racking up a 16-4 record, which included an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Ithaca went 13-2 during the regular season, which included victories over nationally-ranked foes St. Lawrence and SUNY Cortland. The Bombers earned a trip to the Liberty League Championship Game against top-ranked RIT with a crucial road victory over nationally-ranked RPI in the Semifinal Round.
Individually, Long guided seven student-athletes to All-Liberty League honors, which included first-year Connor Brumfield earning Liberty League Rookie of the Year. Winston Wenham, Conner Crosson and Josh Della Puca each went on to earn USILA All-America praise, while the same trio also earned IMLCA All-America honors in 2018.
Before coming to Ithaca, Long worked as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia for Jim Adams. During Long’s three seasons at Virginia, the team won two Atlantic Coast Conference titles and was a participant in the NCAA playoffs in each of those seasons. In 1986 the Cavaliers played in the national championship game, losing to North Carolina, 10-9, in overtime.
Long’s first head coaching job was at the U.S. Naval Academy. He worked one year with the “B” team and another season with the preparatory school unit. Following his Navy tenure, Long was an assistant at Norfolk Academy for one year before moving to Alfred University, where he worked as a graduate assistant and earned a master’s degree in education. He also spent one season at Washington and Lee University before joining the Virginia staff.
As a player, Long was a three-time All-American at Navy. He remains Navy’s career points and assists leader and played on four NCAA playoff teams. Long graduated in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He played on the U.S. national lacrosse teams in 1978 and 1986.
In 1990, Long coached the Syracuse Molson all-star team that lost by one goal to the U.S. national team. In the spring of 1998 Long served as an assistant on Princeton coach Bill Tierney’s staff for the U.S. team that competed in the International Lacrosse Federation World Championship.
Long was an assistant coach for the Ithaca women’s soccer team, working with the team’s goalkeepers, for numerous years. Ithaca advanced to the NCAA playoffs 27 times and consecutively for 13 seasons (2003-15), while winning the national title in 1990 and 1991. The team was back in the national semifinals in 1998 and again in 2011.
He and his wife, Cathy, reside in Ithaca and have three children Kelly, Katie and Molly.
Updated: 8/16/22
