Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Sid Jamieson to Receive Prestigious Spirit of Tewaaraton Award
4/15/2005 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 15, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Legendary Bucknell men's lacrosse coach Sid Jamieson will add an extremely significant honor to his growing list of accolades this June when he receives the "Spirit of Tewaaraton Award" from the Tewaaraton Award Foundation.
Jamieson, who has announced his retirement from coaching at the end of the 2005 season - his 38th at Bucknell - is just the third recipient of this important award, which is not necessarily bestowed on an annual basis. He will be presented the honor at the June 2 Tewaaraton Award Foundation Ceremony in Washington, D.C. Previous winners are A.B. "Buzzy" Kronkard and Diane Geppi-Aikens, the former Loyola College women's lacrosse coach who succumbed to brain cancer.
According to the Tewaaraton Foundation, the sport of lacrosse is rooted in centuries of Native American tradition, and the Foundation honors the truly original American heritage of the sport in the name of its trophy: "Tewaaraton," the Mohawk name for their game and the progenitor of present day lacrosse. The Tewaaraton Trophy, which honors the top male and female college lacrosse players in the nation each year, has received the endorsement of the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders.
This historic element is of special significance to Jamieson, himself of Native American descent. His parents were both raised on the Six Nations Indian Reservation in Brantford, Ontario, and from 1983-86 Jamieson served as head coach of the Iroquois Nationals, a team made up of Native North Americans from both the United States and Canada. Jamieson has given numerous lectures for Native American youth on education, self-motivation and self-esteem. He is also called upon to speak in classrooms on campus and in the community regarding Native American issues. At all Bucknell home lacrosse games, Jamieson flies the flag of the Haudenosaunee, the six-nation Iroquois confederacy, and recently he participated in a ceremony with longtime friend Oren Lyons, faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation, in which a Tree of Peace was planted in front of the Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center.
"The use of the term `spirit' in the name of this award is very special, because spirit has been a very important element of my professional career," said Jamieson, whose Bucknell team is currently ranked 12th in the nation and in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth. "The spirit of the game is something that I have hoped to instill in my players for these last 38 years. It is an important part of the history of the game. I am extremely honored to receive an award like this. It was created with the participation of native people and will actually be presented by a native person, and that adds even more to the honor."
"Sid Jamieson is truly an institution in the sport of lacrosse, and he certainly has to be considered among the top coaches that we have ever had at Bucknell," said John Hardt, Bucknell's director of athletics and recreation. "After such an illustrious career it is wonderful that he has been selected by the Tewaaraton Award Foundation to be recognized nationally with this prestigious honor."
Jamieson's Bucknell teams have captured seven championships in three different conferences - the Patriot League, the East Coast Conference and the Mid-Atlantic Conference. His Bison squads won or shared four straight Patriot League titles from 2000-03 while producing a 21-3 conference record over that span. Last year he guided Bucknell to a berth in the first-ever Patriot League Tournament, where the Bison dropped a heartbreaking one-goal decision to Hobart in the semifinals.
Jamieson has coached 16 All-Americans and has had 13 Bison invited to play in the illustrious North-South All-Star game. An impressive total of 111 of his players have earned all-league distinction. Two players were named Most Valuable Player in the MAC and one in the ECC. In the Patriot League, the Bison have had two Players of the Year, four Defensive Players of the year, three Offensive Players of the Year and three Rookies of the Year in Jamieson's tenure. In addition, the Bison coaching staff has been honored as the Patriot League's top staff twice.
Jamieson has won the prestigious Burma-Bucknell Bowl, given for "outstanding contributions to intercultural and international understanding." In 1994, he took his team on a two-week tour of Japan to compete in the International Lacrosse Friendship Games. Bucknell played the Japanese National Team and participated in lacrosse clinics.
Many of lacrosse's most prominent honors have been bestowed upon Jamieson. He won the highly esteemed Gen. George M. Gelston Award in 1985, as the person who most represents the symbol of the game of lacrosse. He received the Howdy Myers Memorial Award as college lacrosse's "Man of the Year" in 1986 and again in 1996. Jamieson was a featured speaker at the National Coaches Association meetings and clinics in both 2001 and 2003. He coached the North team to victory in the 1998 North South All-Star Game, and from 1993-96 he served as secretary of the U.S. Lacrosse Coaches Association. In February 2003, Jamieson was inducted into the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame in Philadelphia.
Bucknell's men's lacrosse team is currently 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the Patriot League. The Bison have a non-conference game at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at 1 p.m.
