John Danowski

John Danowski (born March 12, 1954) is an American college lacrosse coach who has been the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team since the 2007 season.

Previously, he had spent 21 seasons as the head coach at Hofstra.

Born in Bronxville, New York, Danowski attended East Meadow High School and played lacrosse from 1969 to 1972, helping his team win the county championship twice.

He went to Rutgers University and played for the school's men's lacrosse team for four seasons, from 1973 to 1976.

That year, Danowski also set the team record with 13 assists in a game against Penn State, and in 1974 he compiled a school-record 14 points in a game.

Danowski graduated from Rutgers in 1976, and gained a master's degree in 1978 at C.W. Post.

In 1982, C.W. Post hired Danowski as an assistant coach for its men's lacrosse team, under Tony Seaman.

The following year, he was promoted to head coach.

Danowski spent three seasons as head coach for C.W. Post, compiling a 27–16 win–loss record.

Danowski became the head coach at Hofstra before the 1986 season.

In the year before Danowski joined the school, the team had a 3–11 record.

Hofstra improved under Danowski, and by 1988 the team had reached the top 15 in national polls.

That year, Hofstra earned the East Coast Conference championship, and added another in 1989.

He is a three-time winner of the F. Morris Touchstone Award as the NCAA men's lacrosse coach of the year, earning the honor in 1993, 2010, and 2013.

One of nine coaches to lead three NCAA Division I championship teams, Danowski has won more games than any other Division I lacrosse coach.

In 1993, Hofstra reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 seasons, defeating three teams ranked in the top 10 during the season.

Hofstra won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game before losing to Syracuse in the quarterfinals.

Danowski was honored as coach of the year in the NCAA's Division I.

The 2006 season was Danowski's last coaching at Hofstra.

The team went on a 17-game winning streak, tying the record for most wins by an NCAA men's lacrosse team in a season.

Hofstra achieved a national ranking of number two, but was unable to advance past the quarterfinals of that year's NCAA Tournament.

In his 21 years with Hofstra, Danowski's teams were 192–123, appeared in the NCAA Tournament eight times, and won as many conference titles.

In 2006, as the Duke lacrosse case played out, the university's head coach, Mike Pressler, was forced to resign after being in the position for 16 seasons.

The team was suspended from competition by Duke's president, but in June 2006 the suspension was lifted.

The following month, Duke hired Danowski to fill its vacancy at head coach.

The first season for Danowski at Duke saw him lead the team to a 17-win season, the fourth in NCAA men's lacrosse history.

Duke reached the championship game in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, losing 12–11 to Johns Hopkins.

Danowski won the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year award.

In 2008, Duke entered the NCAA Tournament as the top-seeded team, only to lose again to Johns Hopkins, this time in the national semifinals.

Duke lost again in the semifinals of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, falling to Syracuse 17–7.

Danowski coached Duke to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Lacrosse Championship in 2010, 2013, and 2014, and appearances in the national championship game in 2007, 2018, and 2023.

Danowski won his first national championship as a head coach in the 2010 season, his fourth at Duke, in which the team posted a record of 16–4.

In the title game, Duke defeated Notre Dame in overtime, scoring the winning goal five seconds after the start of the extra period.

The championship was the first for Duke in men's lacrosse.

Following the season, Danowski again was named Division I Coach of the Year.

He led the team in assists three times and, as of 2011, is Rutgers' record-holder for assists in a season, having assisted on 54 goals during the 1973 season.

Danowski's Duke team again reached the semifinals of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, but lost in that round against Maryland.

Inside Lacrosse's Geoff Shannon described Danowski's 2011 performance as among "his most impressive yet in terms of pure coaching acumen", as his team was relatively inexperienced and he opted to make two freshmen starters early in the year.

Danowski interviewed with Rutgers for that school's head coaching position after the season, but decided to remain with the Blue Devils.

In addition, he is the head coach of the United States men's national lacrosse team, which he led to the gold medal at the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship.