SUNY Cortland Athletics

A native of Baldwinsville, N.Y., Paul Rose starred in three sports during his Cortland athletic career. He then enjoyed a storied collegiate coaching career, primarily in lacrosse and wrestling.

Rose, who passed away in March 2010, lettered four years in soccer, wrestling and lacrosse with the Red Dragons. As a forward on the soccer pitch, he twice earned first team all-state and All-SUNYAC honors, won the Red Letter Award twice, and helped Cortland make two NCAA tournament appearances. A three-time All-SUNYAC wrestler, Rose won conference crowns at 137 pounds in 1966 and 130 pounds in 1967.

Rose led the lacrosse team in scoring and earned the Red Letter Award in 1965. As a senior, he started on a squad that ranked 12th nationally. Off the field, he was named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities as a senior.

After one year as freshman soccer coach at Penn State, Rose coached soccer, wrestling and lacrosse at Clarkson University from 1968-70. He moved to Geneseo State in 1970 and served as lacrosse head coach for 10 years and wrestling head coach for nine seasons. The Knights won ECAC lacrosse titles in 1975 and 1976, defeated Syracuse in the 1977 season and posted an overall record of 86-24.

Rose took over the head soccer and lacrosse coaching reins at Colgate University in 1980 and coached at the school for five seasons. He then spent eight years at Morrisville State College from 1985-93 and coached three lacrosse All-Americans. He remained at Morrisville as a senior admissions counselor from 1993-97 and dean of enrollment management from 1997-2001, then resumed as part-time lacrosse head coach from 2001-06. He spent his final years as a volunteer lacrosse coach at Hamilton High School.

Both Geneseo and Morrisville have inducted Rose into their athletics Halls of Fame. He also was named the 2008 Upstate Lacrosse Man of the Year and was a 2010 inductee into the Upstate New York chapter of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Rose was very active in the village of Hamilton for many years. He incorporated youth soccer as part of Hamilton’s summer recreational program from 1980-83. He was a member of the village recreation commission from 1987-94 and chaired the commission for four years. He also started a youth lacrosse program in 2003 and was a 30-year member of the Park United Methodist Church.