SUNY Cortland Athletics

A lacrosse midfielder and All-America wrestler at Cortland, Rory Whipple is one of the NCAA’s most successful men’s lacrosse coaches with 359 wins over 38 seasons.
 
* The Rochester, N.Y., native earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cortland in 1975 and an associate degree in recreation from Farmingdale State in 1974
 
* Competed in wrestling and men’s lacrosse for two seasons each at Cortland from 1974-76
 
* Posted a 35-13 combined wrestling record and won two Red Letter Awards
 
* Earned All-America honors with a sixth-place NCAA Division III tournament finish at 150 pounds in 1976, a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title at 158 pounds in 1975, a SUNYAC runner-up showing at 150 pounds in 1976, and two state runner-up finishes
 
* Midfielder on Cortland’s men’s lacrosse teams that won the 1975 NCAA Division II title in addition to qualifying for the national tournament in 1976
 
* All-American in both lacrosse (1973, 1974) and wrestling (1974) at Farmingdale State
 
* Collegiate men’s lacrosse head coach for 38 years with a combined record of 359-212; currently ranks 10th all-time in wins among men’s lacrosse coaches across all NCAA divisions
 
* Coached seven seasons at Clarkson University from 1980-86 (after three seasons as assistant coach), followed by 12 seasons at Hartwick College (1987-98), seven years at Bryant University (2000-06), two seasons at Florida Southern College (2009-10) and 10 years at the University of Tampa (2012-21)
 
* Cortland men’s lacrosse assistant coach in 2022

* During his coaching tenure at Tampa he led the Spartans to a 131-38 record, seven NCAA Division II tournaments (including three national semifinals), and six Sunshine State Conference (SSC) titles, and he was named SSC Coach of the Year four times
 
* Hartwick’s career leader with 114 wins, including the program’s first NCAA playoff berth in 1995
 
* Head coach of the 1994 Iroquois National Team that finished fifth at the World Lacrosse Championships in England
 
* Coached Iroquois Under-19 team at the World Championships in Japan in 1996, a bronze medal at the 1999 World Games in Australia and a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships in Baltimore, and was an assistant coach for the Iroquois National Team that finished fourth at the 2002 World Championships in Australia
 
* Head wrestling coach at Clarkson for 10 seasons from 1976-86, leading the program to multiple top-20 national rankings
 
* 1989 inductee into both the Upstate New York Wrestling Chapter and U.S. Lacrosse Chapter Halls of Fame, and a 2010 National Junior College Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee
 
* Has directed and coached various wrestling and lacrosse youth programs in Rhode Island and Florida