HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 5, 2008) – During the last weekend in October, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team hosted its 125th anniversary celebration. Stevens is the longest running lacrosse program in the country. The weekend was a two-day celebration, and the Ducks kick off the competitive season February 22, 2009, when they host Muhlenberg College.

In their previous 124 seasons, the Ducks have accumulated a record of 597-585-24 over 1,206 games played. During that span, Stevens players have earned All-American accolades 49 times. Stevens lacrosse has also won an impressive four national championships in its history as well as 15 different team championships.

Stevens' USILA national titles -- the first NCAA championships in lacrosse came decades later -- were in 1892, 1894, 1917 (shared with Lehigh), and 1918 (shared with Johns Hopkins).

To put the significance of the 125th anniversary in perspective, consider the following: Stevens lacrosse began in 1885, before The U.S. Golf Open began (1895), the first Olympics was held (1896), Major League Baseball's first World Series (1903) took place, and the NCAA was formed (1905).

The 125th anniversary weekend began with the Lacrosse Alumni Golf Outing on Friday, October 24 at the Black Bear Golf Club in Franklin, N.J., and a dinner celebration afterwards. Steve Pascone '07 won the golf outing, and the award formally known as the Coaches Award was renamed as the Irvin "Buzz" Seymour Coaches Award at the dinner. Seymour coached at Stevens for 19 years and is currently third all-time in victories (94). He coached 20 All-Americans in his time in Hoboken and is also a member of the New Jersey Lacrosse hall of Fame. Accepting the newly named award on behalf of Mr. Seymour were Doc Audrey '60, Paul Steffen '57, and Jonathan Wort '70.

"Anyone who had the chance to meet Buzz knew he was not only a great coach but a truly great person," Head Coach Byron Collins said. "There isn't a player or person who did not love this man. He had been welcomed in the Stevens Hall of Fame, has a department-wide award in his name, and now has a prestigious men's lacrosse award named after him."

The weekend ended with the alumni game on Saturday. A team of 40 alumni took on the 125th Stevens men's lacrosse team at the De Baun Athletic Complex, with more than 250 people braving the weather to watch the historic contest. Following the game, all alumni, present team members, coaches, parents, and fans had a dinner to put a close on the great weekend.

As a program, Stevens has a great deal of history. Six teams have reached the NCAA tournament, and four went on to win the national title. Victor Starzenski 1907 is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and three different coaches have been selected to coach in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) North/South All-Star Game (Buzz Seymour – 1956, 1957; Frank Rotunda – 1990; Byron Collins – 2004).

In addition, 22 players have participated in the USILA All-Star Game, and 32 Ducks have been named All-ECAC (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference). More than 200 players have been named all-conference in their time at Stevens, and three former coaches have been inducted into the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame (Seymour, Rotunda, and Dean Witty).

More than 50 alumni participated in the weekend, and that number includes members from graduating classes as far back as 1957. Four members from the Class of 1985 and earlier participated in the game.

2008-11-05