Bucknell University Athletics
Jessica Spadafora Named Head Women's Lacrosse Coach at Bucknell
8/4/2004 8:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Aug. 4, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - In charting a course for the future of the Bucknell women's lacrosse program, director of athletics and recreation John Hardt on Wednesday announced the selection of Jessica Spadafora as head coach. Spadafora, most recently the head coach at Randolph-Macon College, becomes the 10th Bison women's lacrosse head coach in the 27-year history of the program. Spadafora spent two seasons as head coach at Randolph-Macon, leading the Yellow Jackets to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament semifinals both years. Her teams compiled an overall combined record of 20-15, including a stellar 13-3 ODAC record. Randolph-Macon was nationally ranked for much of the 2003 season, when it finished 11-5 overall, 7-1 in the league. Spadafora last season coached two all-region players, five all-conference players and the ODAC Rookie of the Year. A native of Nanuet, N.Y., Spadafora takes over a Bucknell team that went 8-7 overalland 4-2 in the Patriot League in 2004. The Bison finished in third place in the league standings and qualified for the Patriot League Tournament. "We are excited to announce Jess will be taking the reins of our women's lacrosse program," said Hardt. "She has great energy and enthusiasm for the scholar-athlete model we expect in all our programs and will utilize her experiences as both a student-athlete and coach to establish a championship tradition by building on the recent success of our women's lacrosse program." "I am grateful to Bucknell and the athletics administration for giving me this wonderful opportunity. To be head coach at such a prestigious academic institution is such an honor," said Spadafora. "I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with this caliber of dedicated and committed student-athletes. Bucknell student-athletes certainly appear to have their academic and athletic priorities in line, where championship performances are made first in the classroom and secondly on the field. I really believe we have all the tools necessary to build upon the recent success of the program and to build a championship lacrosse tradition." Prior to her tenure at Randolph-Macon, Spadafora served as assistant women's lacrosse coach at Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y., and helped lead the Jaspers to back-to-back appearances in the MAAC championship. "Jess brings to us a solid combination of head coaching and Division I playing experience ," said Tim Pavlechko, senior associate director of athletics. "She is certainly passionate about women's lacrosse. She has an appreciation for the transitional issues that our student-athletes have faced over the past couple years and has committed to providing stable and embracing leadership for our program." Spadafora graduated from the University at Albany in 2000 with her bachelor of arts degree, and then earned her masters degree with a concentration in counseling psychology from Manhattan in 2002. She also gained valuable experience working as a counselor at the St. Raymond's Elementary School and Family Outreach Center in Bronx, N.Y. As a student-athlete, Spadafora was a four-year letterwinner and starter at Albany. She became the fourth player in the program's history to break the 100-point mark, and she currently holds Albany records for goals and points in both a season and career. Spadafora was voted Albany's player of the year in 2000. Bucknell sponsors 26 intercollegiate sports, including 14 women, at the Division I level (I-AA in football). It is a charter member of the Patriot League and has won the league's all-sports championship in 11 of the 14 years it has been contested, including the last seven in a row. Bucknell led the nation with a 100 percent graduation rate in the most recent survey and ranks third in Division I in producing Academic All-Americans.
