College sports: St. Lawrence athletic director Durocher announces plans to retire

May 23—CANTON — St. Lawrence University's Bob Durocher first came to the university as an assistant men's and women's soccer coach 35 years ago.

He will be leaving as the head of the entire athletic program for nearly the last decade.

Durocher, a native of Canton, has announced his plan to retire as St. Lawrence's athletic director, the school said Wednesday afternoon. He took over the role in 2015 after guiding the Saints men's soccer team as head coach for 25 years, overseeing St. Lawrence's memorable run to an NCAA Division III championship in 1999.

Durocher will remain in the position until a successor is named, the university said, which added that a nationwide search would begin immediately.

In his time as athletic director, the department started renovations of its athletic facilities, marked by a multi-million dollar upgrade of Appleton Arena that included updated ice rink and renovated locker rooms. The second phase is under way and features a new athletic center on campus that will be home to the university's Division III athletes and coaches.

Durocher arrived on campus in 1989 as assistant soccer coach. A year later he was hired as the men's head coach. Under Durocher's direction, the Saints progressed to being one of the top Division III teams in the country. With Durocher at the helm, St. Lawrence won 17 conference titles and went to the NCAA Tournament 17 times and appeared nine straight years from 1999-2006.

The Saints' 1999 team was the first team in Division III history to win a national championship without losing a game nor finishing tied in a contest (22-0-0). Durocher was named Division III Coach of the Year after St. Lawrence defeated host Wheaton College 2-0 for the championship.

Durocher was named Northeast Regional Coach of the Year seven times and conference coach of the year 12 times. He compiled a 323-101-45 record as soccer coach with 22 of his players winning national All-America honors. The final soccer team he coached in 2014 went 17-2-2.

He became assistant athletic director in 2000, maintaining his coaching job, but stepped away from the soccer position when taking the head athletic director position in 2015, replacing the retiring Margie Strait.

In his time as athletic director, Durocher has overseen 38 conference and regional championships by Saints athletic teams and 88 athletes have won All-America awards.

Durocher has also worked to enhance St. Lawrence's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Durocher, was a three-sport high school athlete and graduated from Ithaca College in 1981, where he was a four-year starter as a midfielder on the men's soccer team. A two-year captain and all-conference player, he helped the Bombers made the NCAA Tournament in 1979 and 1980 and those years helped Ithaca become a perennial NCAA contender through the next two decades.

Durocher's coaching career began as the women's soccer coach at SUNY Canton in 1981 and 1982 and his team made the NJCAA Tournament. He also coached SUNY Canton's women's basketball team. He then moved to Florida and worked in a hospital and played minor league soccer before taking his first job at St. Lawrence.

MEN'S LACROSSE

7 SAINTS ALL-AMERICANS

Seven members of the St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse team won USILA All-America honors, the organization announced Thursday.

The Saints' Judge Murphy and Tripp Clark received first-team mention. Paddy Condon is on the second team and Caleb Torres took third-team honors. Ben Hutchinson, Bobby Wells and Michael Marinello won honorable mention.

"This is a reflection of the outstanding season that they shared with their teammates this spring and they are very deserving of these accolades," said Saints coach Mike Mahoney about his No. 5-ranked squad.

Murphy, the Liberty League's Offensive Player of the Year, registered 63 goals and 30 assists for 93 points. His 5.00 points per game was 30th in the nation. Clark ranked second in the league with 1.88 caused turnovers per game and 36 total, winning Liberty League first-team honors.

THOMPSON NAMED ALL-AMERICAN

SUNY Potsdam sophomore goaltender Saka Thompson, formerly of Salmon River, was named to the honorable mention USILA All-American team Thursday. It's his second All-American award this season.

Thompson registered a conference-best 8.14 goals-against average and was a first-team selection on the All-SUNYAC squad. He's won 12 games in his first two seasons, good for eighth all-time at Potsdam.

He's the fourth Potsdam goalie to win All-American selection.