Fresno State Athletics
Sue Behme Named Head Women's Lacrosse Coach
5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
May 28, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - Director of Athletics Thomas Boeh announced the hiring of Sue Behme as the Fresno State Women's Lacrosse head coach at a press conference in the Josephine Theater on Wednesday afternoon. Behme will lead the Bulldog lacrosse program in its inaugural campaign in the 2008-09 year.
"We are very happy to welcome Sue to the Fresno State family," said Boeh. "She has a proven track record of competitive success and clearly displays the level of expertise and enthusiasm that will be critical to constructing the Bulldog lacrosse program from scratch."
Fresno State announced the addition of women's lacrosse on January 9th, along with women's swimming and diving, in a move that reflects the University's continued commitment to Title IX compliance. The Fresno State lacrosse team will compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, a conference that includes Stanford, Denver, Cal, Oregon, UC Davis and St. Mary's.
"Sue is the type of coach we were looking for to start our lacrosse program," said Martina Buckley, the Associate AD for Business Operations and the chair of search committee. "She has the enthusiasm and the ability to teach lacrosse to the valley and will get them to love the sport."
Behme spent the last nine seasons as the head coach at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y., where she compiled a 115-39 record and led the Golden Flyers to six NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.
Behme led Nazareth to a 10-5 record in 2008 and has an overall record of 136-61 in 13 seasons of coaching, including four seasons as head coach at SUNY Geneseo in New York.
She was named Empire 8 Conference Coach of the Year again in 2008, marking the fifth time she has received that honor. Behme also was Conference Coach of the Year in 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2006.
The Golden Flyers were routinely ranked among the small-college elite thanks largely to Behme. Nazareth dove head-first into the limelight in 2000 when Behme guided the Golden Flyers to a school-record 16 victories, the Empire 8 Conference title and the program's first-ever NCAA berth. Nazareth also gained automatic NCAA berths in 2002, 2005 and 2006 and at-large selections in 2004 and 2007.
Under Behme's direction, the Golden Flyers enjoyed one of their finest seasons ever in 2006 as they finished the regular season as one of only three unbeaten teams in the country at 14-0. Nazareth received a first-round bye to the NCAA Tournament, then lost a tough 10-7 decision to Franklin & Marshall in the quarterfinals. Behme was also recognized that year as NYSWCAA Coach of the Year and Empire Region Coach of the Year.
In addition to lacrosse, she coached soccer at SUNY Geneseo and posted a record of 38-32-1. She started the lacrosse program at SUNY Geneseo in 1996 and guided the team to a 9-4 finish in 1999, the same season she was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year.
Behme also has had coaching stints in lacrosse and soccer at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va. and at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.
As an athlete, Behme was a collegiate All-American in both soccer and lacrosse at Cortland. In soccer, she helped the Red Dragons to a national championship in 1992 while earning All-America honors. She was a two-time All-American in lacrosse and was selected to compete in the North-South Senior all-star game in 1993.
Behme graduated from SUNY Cortland in 1993 with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies. She has a Master's degree in recreation from SUNY Brockport.
