Carl Runk (1935 or 1936 – November 24, 2024) was an American

college lacrosse College lacrosse is played by student-athletes at colleges and university, universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played at both the varsity and club levels. College lacrosse ...

and

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach at

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

, with over 30 years of combined coaching experience. He was the Tigers' first-ever head football coach, which he coached from 1969 to 1971. Runk is however, best known for his coaching success with Towson men's lacrosse program, where he was head coach from 1968 to 1998.

Early life

Runk graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

where he played on the

Arizona Wildcats football The Arizona Wildcats football program represents the University of Arizona (UA) in the sport of American college football. Arizona competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member ...

team. He then began coaching the men's lacrosse team at Arizona throughout the 1960s. After bringing the Arizona program to consistent success, Runk went to

(then Towson State) in 1968.

Lacrosse

Towson University

Runk coached Towson men's lacrosse for 31 years. He compiled an overall record of 261–161–0. In 1974, he led the Tigers to the National Championship by defeating Hobart 18–17, making them the College Division National Lacrosse Champions. Towson moved to Division I in 1980 and had continued success with five conference titles in the

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located primarily in the state of New York, with a single ...

. In 1989 they reached their first NCAA Division I Tournament bid. During 1990's Runk led his team to four tournament bids along with an appearance in the national championship in 1991. Throughout his time at Towson, Runk coached a "Player of the Year" in every position, as well as 67

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Hereford High School

After leaving Towson, Runk took over coaching the boys' lacrosse team at Hereford High School in

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...

, near his home. In his time at Hereford, the school won the Maryland State Championship in 2003 and 2008 as well as county and division championships in 2008. They qualified for the regional tournament in every year he coached at the school.

Later life and death

Runk retired from formal coaching after the championship season with Hereford in 2008. Runk, however, still stayed involved with the game as he helped develop programs in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

, as well as an annual recruiting camp named Top Star that he hosted for prospective college lacrosse athletes. It is held at

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Runk wrote a book in 2008 entitled "Carl Runk's Coaching Lacrosse: Strategies, Drills & Plays from an NCAA Tournament Winning Coach's Playbook". Runk lived with his wife in

Parkton, Maryland Parkton is an agrarian unincorporated area in the northern part of Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It borders southern York County, Pennsylvania, which forms part of the Mason–Dixon line. The area is mostly agricultural in nature wit ...

, and taught

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

courses at Towson University. He died on November 24, 2024, at the age of 88.'Father of Towson Lacrosse' Carl Runk passes away
/ref>

Head coaching record

Football

References

# # {{DEFAULTSORT:Runk, Carl 1930s births Year of birth uncertain 2024 deaths Arizona Wildcats men's lacrosse coaches Arizona Wildcats football players Towson University faculty Towson Tigers football coaches Towson Tigers men's lacrosse coaches High school lacrosse coaches in the United States People from Parkton, Maryland Players of American football from Baltimore County, Maryland