John S. Emmer is a former American

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

coach. He retired in 2005 with 326 wins, making him the lacrosse coach with the most wins in NCAA history. This mark was surpassed in 2008 by

Jim Berkman James Berkman is an American college lacrosse coach. He has served as the head coach at Salisbury University since 1989, after spending one season as the head coach at State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam) in 1985. Salisbury has ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

Salisbury University Salisbury University is a public university in Salisbury, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1925, Salisbury University is a member of the University System of Maryland, with a fall 2022 enrollment of 7,123. Salisbury University offers unde ...

. Emmer is one of only two head coaches to have led three different teams to the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament.

Early life

Emmer grew up in

Mineola, New York Mineola is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and the county seat of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 20,800 at the time of the 2020 United Stat ...

and attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, where he played football as a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and lacrosse as a

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

. He lettered in lacrosse three times from 1965 to 1967. The

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the varsi ...

named him to the

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 ...

second team. He was voted

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

by his teammates and made an appearance in the North-South Senior All-Star Game upon the end of his college career in 1967. Emmer was selected in the 13th round of the

1967 NFL/AFL draft The 1967 NFL/AFL draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft between the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL), part of the AFL–NFL merger agreeme ...

as the 327th overall pick by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. Emmer played professional football in the minor league

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

, playing for the Westchester Bulls in 1967 and 1968.

Coaching career

In 1970, Emmer received his first head coaching position at Cortland State. During his three-year tenure there, he posted a 32–6 record and led the Red Dragons to an appearance in the recently established NCAA tournament in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

.Emmer retires as lacrosse's winningest active coach
, United States Military Academy, May 27, 2005, retrieved June 1, 2010. In 1973, Emmer took over as head coach at Washington and Lee. He led the Generals to six-straight NCAA tournament appearances between

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. In 1973, Washington and Lee finished the regular season with a perfect 14-win mark. The Generals defeated

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

in overtime, 13–12, to advance to the semifinals, where they were beaten, 18–5, by

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

.Official 2008 NCAA Men's and Women's Lacrosse Record Book
(PDF),

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

, retrieved May 30, 2010. The Generals again finished 1974 undefeated with a 15–0 record, and received a bid to the NCAA tournament. In the first round, they beat Navy, 11–9, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained for mos ...

, 11–10. In the 1975 NCAA tournament, Washington and Lee beat Hopkins, 11–7, at

Homewood Field Homewood Field is the athletics stadium of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. History It was built in 1906 and has an official capacity of 8,500 people. The name is taken, as is that of the entire campus, from the name of th ...

to end the Blue Jays' 27-game home winning streak. The Generals then fell to Maryland, 15–5, in the semifinals. In total, Emmer led Washington and Lee to ten NCAA tournaments.Jack Emmer
, Washington and Lee University, retrieved June 1, 2010. In 1984, he moved to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

to take over the Army lacrosse team. At West Point, he led the Black Knights to eight NCAA tournament appearances, which set a school record for a head coach. He also became one of the only two head coaches to lead three different teams to the NCAA semifinals. Under Emmer, Army won ten outright or shared

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising primarily leading Private university, private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United ...

conference championships, including five straight from 1991 to 1995, over which period the Black Knights posted a perfect 25–0 conference record. In all, Emmer recorded a 70–12 Patriot League mark. Emmer was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1998. In 2002, he coached an all-star collegiate

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

to the gold medal in the

World Lacrosse Championship The World Lacrosse Men's Championship is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years. The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as ...

Perth, Australia Perth () is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the ...

. In 2003, Emmer broke the NCAA record for wins by a coach, and received the Howdy Myers Man of the Year Award. Emmer retired from coaching after the 2005 season in order to spend more time with his family in

Skaneateles, New York Skaneateles ( , ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,112. The name is from the Iroquois term ...

. Emmer was inducted into the

National Lacrosse Hall of Fame The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum, is located in Sparks, Maryland, at the USA Lacrosse headquarters. Prior to moving to its present location in 2016, the hall of fame and museum was located in Baltimore, Maryland, on the Homewood c ...

in 2005.John "Jack" Emmer
, National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, retrieved June 1, 2010. He has also been inducted into the

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

, and Long Island Metro Area

US Lacrosse USA Lacrosse, a Recognized Sport Organization of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, is the governing body of men and women's lacrosse in the United States. It provides a leadership role in virtually every aspect of the game and has ...

chapters Halls of Fame.

Personal life

Emmer and his wife, Joan, have two children, a son and daughter. His son, Patrick played

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Bryant University Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It has three colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New E ...

under head coach

Mike Pressler Mike Pressler (born February 27, 1960) is an American lacrosse coach, who is currently the head coach and general manager of Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League as well as the varsity head coach for Highland Park High School's la ...

, who played for Emmer at Washington & Lee.# 44 - Patrick Emmer
Bryant University, retrieved May 24, 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmer, Jack Living people Army Black Knights men's lacrosse coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse players People from Mineola, New York Year of birth missing (living people)