Lousiville women’s lacrosse has its next coach. The school announced Monday that former Canisius and Canadian national team coach Scott Teeter will join the Cardinals program.
The Louisville Courier Journal reported earlier Monday that, just weeks after firing coach Kellie Young amid a tumultuous offseason that saw multiple players leave the program, the Cardinals had offered Teeter that head coach position. Teeter, who had coached Canisius for 16 seasons, accepted the school’s offer.
"We are thrilled to hire Scott Teeter, who has a tremendous coaching pedigree, to lead our women's lacrosse program going forward," said interim director of athletics Vince Tyra in a press release. "We have established a winning tradition, advancing to the NCAA Tournament the last four seasons, and we wanted someone who could help build on that tradition. Scott fits that mold, he's very well known in the lacrosse community, and most importantly, he's been a winner."
Teeter joins a Louisville program that endured a fall season in the headlines.
In August, the team granted the release of nine players including goalie Brittany Read and junior midfielder Meghan Siverson. An additional five players left the program in October and early November.
On Oct. 25, the Louisville Courier Journal reported that a former player Madeline Beck filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming negligence on the part of the lacrosse staff. She said that she was “hospitalized after lacrosse staff forced her to overwork herself during a conditioning activity and athletics personnel failed to provide satisfactory medical care.”
Less than two weeks after news of the lawsuit broke, the school fired Young, who had been the program’s only coach since it began in 2006. She finished her Louisville career with a 106-66 record.
Teeter joins the Louisville women’s lacrosse program looking to clean the slate. He helped transform a non-competitive Canisius program into one of the nation’s most consistent mid-majors, making the NCAA tournament four times in the last seven seasons.
A graduate of Canisius, Teeter led the Golden Griffins to six conference titles and is the winningest coach in MAAC history with 130 victories. He was voted MAAC Coach of the Year on four occasions.
"This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made," Teeter said in a press release. "The truth is, that at this point in my life, I am ready for a new professional challenge. Canisius is part of who I am, and always will be. I want to thank Canisius President John J. Hurley and Bill Maher for helping me build this program to where it is today. I also have to thank all my players – past and present – for being the heart and soul of Canisius women's lacrosse. I have loved my time at Canisius, first as a student-athlete, and then as a head coach, and I am proud of what we achieved here. I look forward to Canisius' continued success."
In addition to his college coaching experience, Teeter was appointed coach of the Canadian women’s U19 national team in 2009. He helped Canada win bronze in 2011 and gold in the 2015 World Championships.
Because of that success, he was promoted to coach the senior national team. He led Canada to silver medals in both the FIL World Cup and the IWGA World Games this summer.
"Scott is an amazing coach that gets the most out of his players," Syracuse coach Gary Gait said. "Winning the world U-19 championship for Canada solidified his ability to coach players to their maximum potential. He is destined to have a great coaching career at Louisville, competing at the highest level in the ACC."