July 19, 2004

Brian Brecht has been named head men's lacrosse coach at Siena College, Director of Athletics John D'Argenio made the announcement today. Brecht will be on campus full-time, assuming additional administrative duties within the department.

Brecht comes to Siena after recently completing his third season as an assistant coach at Loyola College. In his role as assistant, Brecht served as Loyola's offensive coordinator and worked with the team's extra-man offense. He also played a major role in recruiting and scouting.

"Brian has proven to be a quality coach and solid recruiter while assisting some of the top lacrosse programs in the country," D'Argenio said. "We're confident this experience will help our lacrosse program grow and ultimately challenge the top programs in our league."

During the 2001 season, Brecht worked alongside Loyola Head Coach Bill Dirrigl at Rutgers University. Brecht was instrumental in powering the Scarlet Knights to a No. 18 national ranking, the squad's first Top-20 ranking in six years. With Brecht's help, Rutgers had two victories over Top-15 programs that season.

Before working at Rutgers, Brecht filled the role of defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Army during the 2000 season. The Black Knights went 8-7 that year, achieving a Top-20 ranking themselves. Army finished second in the Patriot League during Brecht's one-year stay.

Prior to Army, Brecht was an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1997-99. He worked with the staff and aided in coaching, recruiting and scouting for the Quakers. Brecht played collegiate lacrosse at Springfield (Mass.) College, where he graduated from in 1995. He immediately jumped into the coaching profession, serving as an assistant at powerful Yorktown (N.Y.) High School. In his brief stint at Yorktown, he helped take the team to the New York State semifinals.

Soon thereafter, Brecht was hired as defensive coordinator at Division III Hartwick College, where he worked the 1996 and 1997 seasons. During his tenure at Hartwick, Brecht saw the Hawks reach a No. 14 national ranking in 1996 and then a No. 8 national ranking in 1997, which included the Super Six Conference title.

"As a program that will develop and compete for the MAAC title, we will be committed to attracting the finest student athletes at Siena, instilling a dedicated approach to developing and refining the skills of the game and inspiring our players to perform at the highest possible level," Brecht said.

Brecht, 31, also assumes additional administrative responsibilities within athletics relating to scheduling, team travel and upkeep of the facilities.