In 30 years as a college head coach, Hampden-Sydney lacrosse coach Ray Rostan has established himself as one of the most respected coaches in the country. In 2002, Rostan served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Lacrosse Team which won the World Lacrosse Championships in Perth, Australia. Rostan was the 1998 and 1989 recipient of the
Francis “Babe” Kraus Memorial Award, after being voted the national coach of the year by his peers as he became the first Division III coach to be honored with the award twice.
In addition to national honors, Rostan has been voted Old
Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times, most recently in
2001. In 2004, Rostan’s senior class made history as they tied the school record for career
victories with 44 wins and earned three NCAA Tournament
appearances. In 2003, Rostan led the Tiger lacrosse team to national heights as the Tigers finished the season ranked seventh in the nation. The 2003 Tigers finished with a 12-3 overall mark, completed the ODAC regular season undefeated for the second straight year and advanced into the quarterfinals of the
NCAA Tournament with a 10-8 victory over then-third-ranked Washington College.
Rostan’s seventh NCAA appearance came during the 2002 season as he led the Tigers to a 13-3 record and a No. 3 ranking in the final poll of the regular season. The team completed a 6-0 record against ODAC competition during the regular season and hosted the first-ever ODAC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament Championship game.
Rostan reached the significant milestone of winning his 200th college game in April of 2002 in a victory over Washington and Lee. In April of 1996, Rostan recorded his 100th victory while the head coach at Hampden-Sydney. He now has 254 collegiate victories,
217 at H-SC, and is third nationally among NCAA Division III coaches in all-time victories. His teams have reached the NCAA Tournament seven times.
During the past eight years, Rostan’s teams have won 81 games, two ODAC Championships and participated in four NCAA Tournaments. Since 1998, 27 student-athletes have received All-American honors, including four on the first team, along with two Academic
All-Americans. In 1998, Jamie Worthen was named the Division III National Player of the Year at defense, while Rostan’s son, Jason, garnered USILA
first team All-America and ODAC Player of the Year accolades in 2002.
In addition to coaching duties, Rostan has been a member of several national committees. He chaired of the Men’s USILA North-South Senior All-Star Game and he is serving on the Committee for Coaching Ethics sponsored by US Lacrosse. He recently completed a five-year commitment as a member of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Committee, as well as ten years on the Division III All-America committee.
In 2003, Rostan was named Assistant Athletic Director for Hampden-Sydney College. It is his third title in his 25 years of service to
The College, along with coaching the water polo team through the early-90’s and coaching the lacrosse team, which he took over in 1985.
The Copiague (Long Island), New York native earned his B.S. in 1973 from Cortland State, and his M.S. from Ithaca College in 1977. A collegiate attackman, Rostan was a member of the 1973 Cortland State national championship team. He later played professional indoor lacrosse for the National Lacrosse League Champion Rochester Griffins, then for the Long Island Tomahawks.
Rostan and his wife Karen have two children,
Jamie and Jason. Jason, a 2003 graduate of
Hampden-Sydney College was a two-time USILA All-
American for the Tiger lacrosse team as well as the ODAC Player of the Year in
2003. Jason has returned to Hampden- Sydney and joins his father on the sideline as the Tigers’
assistant lacrosse coach. Coach Rostan’s daughter, Jamie, graduated from the University of Mary Washington (2005) and is presently residing in Denver, Colorado.
