July 17, 2007

Staten Island, NY - Wagner College Athletic Director Walt Hameline announced that Jason Rife has been named the Head Men's Lacrosse Coach. Rife spent the previous four seasons as the assistant coach at Bryant University.

"We are ecstatic to get a coach with such an excellent lacrosse background," said Hameline. "He has won at every playing and coaching stop while showing the ability to develop strong student-athletes."

Rife comes to Grymes Hill with an abundance of experience as he spent the previous four seasons at Division II lacrosse power Bryant University as an assistant coach. In the 2007 season he helped the Bulldogs to their first-ever Northeast 10 Conference Regular Season Championship on the heels of an undefeated conference-mark. Included in the stellar campaign was the program's first-ever win over eventual Division II National Champion LeMoyne, a 10-9 overtime thriller, which ended the Dolphins 70-game conference winning streak.

"I am extremely excited and grateful about the opportunity to become the head coach at Wagner College," said Rife. "I look forward to the opportunity to develop the program and am extremely excited about the future of Wagner Lacrosse. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the former coaches and colleagues that I have worked for to be able to gain the knowledge that enabled me to take advantage of this fantastic situation."

Over Rife's four years Bryant appeared in the Northeast 10 championship game twice and went a combined 45-20, including 34-5 in conference play. He has also overseen the development of five Division II All-Americans along the way.

Rife helped develop five D-II All-Americans during his time at Bryant

To compliment his role as an assistant coach he also served as the NCAA Compliance Coordinator for the Rhode Island institution.

Prior to Bryant, Rife was an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for two seasons helping them to the NCAA Division I quarterfinals during the 2003 campaign. In 2002, he helped pilot Washington & Lee to the Division III semi-finals and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship. Before that he began his collegiate coaching career in California, helping Whittier from 1998-2000.

He broke into coaching at the high school level upon graduation.

Rife graduated from UMASS in 1995 and participated in the NCAA Tournament.

In between his stint at Whittier and Washington & Lee he spent three years as a special education teacher at Hawthorne Academy in Hawthorne, California.

He now resides in Staten Island with his wife, Karen, Wagner's head women's lacrosse coach.