Men’s Lacrosse: Breschi Named Head Coach at North Carolina – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Joe Breschi, a 1990 University of North Carolina alumnus, first-team All-America defenseman and former assistant coach for the Tar Heels, became the 12th head men’s lacrosse coach in Carolina history in an announcement Wednesday by Tar Heel Director of Athletics Dick Baddour. Breschi comes to Chapel Hill from The Ohio State University where he has served as the head men’s lacrosse coach for the past 11 seasons. Breschi was an assistant coach at UNC and Brown for seven seasons prior to his stint in Columbus with the Buckeyes and has 18 seasons of collegiate coaching experience overall.
“Every moment at Ohio State we’ve been embraced by the amazing leadership of both Andy Geiger and Gene Smith, the wonderful administrative support, the outstanding alumni group, supportive families and student-athletes who made our experience in Ohio one we will cherish forever,” Breschi said. “It was a family decision to make a move and face a new challenge in our life.”
“We want to thank Coach Breschi for the solid foundation he built for the Buckeye lacrosse program as he moved Ohio State into the national picture,” TJ Shelton, Ohio State assistant athletics director for sport administration, said. “The position at North Carolina was a tremendous opportunity for Coach Breschi and his family and we wish him success in his new endeavor. We will begin a national search to find the next head coach of our program immediately.”
“I’d like to thank Athletic Director Dick Baddour for the tremendous opportunity to be the head lacrosse coach at my alma mater,” Breschi said. “I made a commitment to be a Tar Heel 22 years ago to Hall of Fame Coach Willie Scroggs and now I have a chance to give back to the University, Alumni and Carolina lacrosse family that had an extraordinary impact on my life. My family is thrilled for the new challenge that lies ahead and we can’t wait to hit the ground running in Chapel Hill.”
“I’m happy to welcome Joe Breschi as our lacrosse coach at Carolina,” said Baddour. “Joe has done an outstanding job of building a fine program at Ohio State. I’m thrilled that he has decided to accept our offer. Joe had a tremendous playing career in Chapel Hill and it will be great to have him back as part of our athletic family.”
A native of Baltimore, Md., and a 1986 alumnus of the Loyola-Blakefield School, Breschi compiled a 92-63 overall record in his 11 years at Ohio State along with a 34-18 regular-season Great Western Lacrosse League mark. The Buckeyes shared GWLL regular-season titles in 1999, 2003 and 2008 and won the conference championship outright in 2004. The Buckeyes have had seven winning seasons in their last eight years and have made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003, 2004 and 2008. Under Breschi, Ohio State had three double-figure winning seasons, going 10-3 in 1999, 12-4 in 2004 and 11-6 this past season.
In Breschi’s 11th season at Ohio State in 2008, the Buckeyes enjoyed their most successful campaign in school history. Ohio State finished 11-6 overall and won its first NCAA Tournament game in history by defeating No. 8-seeded Cornell 15-7 in the NCAA first round on the Big Red’s home field in Ithaca, N.Y. The Buckeyes shared the Great Western Lacrosse League regular-season title with Notre Dame and Denver and reached the finals of the first GWLL Tournament. Amongst the Buckeyes 11 wins in 2008 was a 14-11 triumph over North Carolina on April 12, 2008 in Baltimore. It was Ohio State’s first in 14 tries versus the Tar Heels.
Four Buckeyes were named All-Americans in 2008, including second-team attackman Kevin Buchanan, who was also the fifth pick in last month’s Major League Lacrosse draft. Four Buckeyes were GWLL first-team selections in ’08 and another four were second-team choices. He has coached Ohio State players to 128 academic All-Big Ten honors and 217 Ohio State Scholar-Athlete awards in his 11 seasons at Columbus. Breschi is a three-time GWLL coach of the year selection, gaining the nod in 1999, 2003 and 2004.
Breschi was one of the finest lacrosse players in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference while playing for legendary UNC lacrosse coach Willie Scroggs from 1987-90. He was also a member of two U.S. National Teams. After graduating from Carolina in 1990, Breschi coached at his alma mater for two seasons before going to Brown University as the head assistant coach from 1993-97. Breschi was the chief assistant at UNC under Dave Klarmann in 1991 and 1992 and was part of a staff that captured ACC titles in 1991 and 1992 and UNC’s fourth NCAA title in 1991. The Tar Heels compiled a stellar 28-3 record during Breschi’s assistant coaching stint.
Success at North Carolina came not only as a coach for Breschi, but also as a player. He was an All-ACC selection in both 1989 and 1990 and was selected to play in the prestigious USILA North-South All-Star game in 1990. He was a first team All-America pick on defense in 1990 and an honorable mention All-America in 1989. After captaining the Tar Heels his senior season to the NCAA semifinals and an ACC title, Breschi was selected as UNC’s nominee for the 1990 Anthony J. McKevlin Award, given annually to the outstanding male athlete in the ACC. In 2002, Breschi was named to the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference 50th Anniversary Men’s Lacrosse Team, honoring the Top 50 players in league history. He was a member of U.S. National Teams that played in the World Lacrosse Games in 1994 and 1998. Breschi earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Carolina in 1990.
Breschi and his wife Julie have five children, the late Michael Breschi as well as, Samantha, 6, Abigail, 4, Lucy, 2, and Emily, 1.
