Steve Beville begins his third season as Cortland's men's lacrosse head coach in 2009 after leading the Red Dragons to back-to-back NCAA Division III runner-up finishes in his first two campaigns.
In 2008, Beville's squad finished 18-2 and won the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament and regular-season titles. The Red Dragons then defeated Springfield, Middlebury and Ithaca in the NCAA playoffs before falling to Salisbury in the national title game.
In his first season at Cortland in 2007, Beville guided the Red Dragons to a 15-6 mark and a SUNYAC regular-season crown. Cortland earned an at-large NCAA berth that spring and won three road NCAA games versus St. Lawrence, Western New England and Wesleyan. The Red Dragons lost to Salisbury in the championship game.
Ten of Beville's players have earned All-America honors at Cortland. Among those was Ryan Heath, who was named the 2008 Division III national Attackman of the Year and was drafted by the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse.
Beville brought 18 years of head coaching experience to Cortland, including eight seasons at Division I Vermont. His overall coaching record of 181-119 includes a 100-49 mark in 10 seasons at Colorado College, where he coached teams that were ranked in the top 25 of Division III seven times and defeated Division I rival Air Force three times. His Colorado teams had a 100 percent graduation rate and featured the first three All-Americans in school history.
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Beville graduated from West Genesee High School in 1981 and went on to enjoy a highly successful playing career at Washington College in Maryland. He was a two-time Division III National Defenseman of the Year and played in three Division III national championship games.
Beville served as an assistant coach at Washington College in 1986 and 1987 and the team reached the national title contest in 1986. He was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.
During his tenure at Vermont, Beville served on the Division I All-America selection committee and the NCAA playoff advisory committee, and was a voter on the national Division I poll. He was also a member of the U.S. National Team selection committee in 1998 and 2002. Beville coached in the North-South Senior All-Star Game in both 1997 and 2004, served six years on the Division III All-America selection committee and was a member of the Division III national championship advisory committee in 1997 and 1998.
Beville and his wife, Jackie, have two daughters – Elizabeth and Lauren.
