Taking Duke and Himself to the Top
Cemented as one of the top coaches in college lacrosse, John Danowski has led the Duke men’s lacrosse team to unprecedented success and himself to the top of the Division I men’s lacrosse wins list during his tenure in Durham. Danowski was introduced as Duke’s eighth head men’s lacrosse coach July 21, 2006 and quickly led the Blue Devils to some of the most successful lacrosse seasons in school history and ultimately to three NCAA Championships – 2010, 2013 and 2014.
In Danowski’s 17 years at the helm of the Blue Devils lacrosse program, he has compiled an impressive 240-74 record in leading Duke to nine ACC regular season titles, four ACC tournament titles, 12 appearances in the NCAA semifinals, including eight straight from 2007-14, six in the NCAA title match and ultimately to the 2010, 2013 and 2014 national titles.
The 2014 NCAA crown put Danowski among a small group of nine coaches to win three national titles and among eight to capture consecutive crowns. Meanwhile, Duke’s run of eight straight NCAA semifinals rank as the second most of any program since 2000 with Syracuse.
In 2019, Danowski made history by becoming the first Division I head coach and only the third across all three divisions to reach 400 career wins when Duke beat Furman 17-9. He currently ranks third all-time among all NCAA lacrosse coaches in the sports history.
Breaking Through for the First
After three straight trips to Championship Weekend, which included a runner-up finish in 2007, the Blue Devils broke through for their first NCAA Men’s Lacrosse title in 2010 in dramatic fashion. On the heels of Max Quinzani’s last-second goal that pushed Duke past Virginia 14-13, the championship game against Notre Dame was a much lower scoring affair as the two teams slogged their way to a 5-5 score after 60 minutes. Tension was high as CJ Costabile lined up at the faceoff X to start the sudden victory overtime. The talented long pole, won the draw, raced straight down the field and fired a shot past the Notre Dame goalie all in a span of five seconds to give Duke its first championship.
Going Back to Back
The Blue Devils, a regular at Championship Weekend, accomplished a feat few programs had done in NCAA men’s lacrosse history – they went back-to-back.
Duke struggled in the first month of the 2013 season, starting 2-4 with the two wins against Jacksonville and Mercer. Dropping out of the top 25, the Blue Devils started to right the ship with a 9-8 victory over Loyola and rattled off nine straight wins before falling in the ACC semifinal to North Carolina.
Refocused, Duke edged Loyola in double overtime in the NCAA opening round and rode that momentum all the way to Memorial Day to vie for a second title. Syracuse jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but the combination of Brendan Fowler’s dominance at the faceoff X and Jordan Wolf on attack sent the Blue Devils on a 12-1 run en route to a 16-10 triumph.
Danowski’s coaching job in 2013 did not go unnoticed as he was voted the IMCLA Howdy Myers Man of the Year as well as one of five nominees for that year’s Coach of the Year ESPY.
Returning a battle-tested group, the 2014 season was much less dramatic as Duke compiled a 17-3 record and a third NCAA title. The Blue Devils lost a couple of early season games, but thrived on the next man up mentality as injuries compounded down the stretch. Duke, after suffering another ACC semifinal loss, cruised to the semifinals with 20-9 and 19-11 victories.
The Blue Devils remained in full control at Championship Weekend, with a 15-12 win over Denver and an 11-9 triumph against Notre Dame – a game that was not as close as the score might indicate.
Danowski became the eighth coach in NCAA Division I history to win consecutive crowns, while Duke became the first back-to-back champions since Syracuse in 2008 and 2009 and just the second school to do so since 2000. Duke is one of six programs to win at consecutive titles since the first one was awarded in 1971. Danowski is currently one of three active coaches to be able to lay claim consecutive NCAA crowns to his name.
Missing the Tournament and Coming Back Stronger
The Blue Devils, finishing the 2023 season with an 11-6 overall record and a final RPI of nine, were not among the 16 teams selected to the NCAA Tournament. The streak of 14 consecutive berths into the postseason came to and end.
The absence was short as Duke returned to the top of the sport in 2023, climbing to No. 1 midway through the season and winning the ACC title. The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Championship game before falling to a seasoned Notre Dame squad.
Led by the efforts of Duke’s attack trio of Brennan O’Neill, Dyson Williams and Andrew McAdorey, the Blue Devils ranked fifth nationally in scoring offense. On the other end of the field, first-team All-American Kenny Brower anchored the close defense that finished second in the ACC with a 10.89 goals against average.
Coaching Through a Unique and Unprecedented Time
The 2020 season certainly had its ups and downs on the field during the first month of the campaign as the Blue Devils lost to Air Force to start the year, but beat Denver on the road two weeks later. Duke was starting to hit is stride during spring break when everything changed. It was just a matter of hours really as the team lined up for the team photo and then moments later the players learned the season had been postponed and eventually canceled in the ensuing weeks.
Through it all, Danowski did his best to continue coaching and leading this group of young men virtually. He organized team meetings where he would bring in different speakers from all areas - sports, business, academics, etc.
In addition, Danowski joined forces with Duke’s Director of Sports Pyschology Greg Dale and created a virtual program called “The Art of Coaching”. The pair discussed everything that goes into coaching and team building, leadership and beyond. It grew to bring on special guest coaches from Duke as well as other Division I head coaches.
When the Blue Devils returned to campus in the fall of 2020 life was anything but normal as COVID-19 restrictions were in place to allow Duke to return to play. However, Danowski and his staff made the most of it and worked towards creating a great experience in the fall with the creationg of the Duke Outdoor Lacrosse League. The players picked teams and they battled each other in intrasquad scrimmages at the end of every week and then convened on the field after for an outdoor meal in order to develop more team chemistry.
Danowski and the Blue Devils navigated all of the ups and downs that came along the way of a season during the spring and clinched a share of the ACC title. Players stepped in when others were sidelined due to a positive COVID-19 test or any other injury and the Blue Devils went on to earn a spot at Championship Weekend.
Mentoring the Best
A winner of nearly 80 percent of his games at Duke, the individual awards Blue Devil players have garnered is equally impressive. In 17 seasons, Danowski has mentored 100 All-America selections, 53 All-ACC choices, 19 ACC major award winners, three Tewaaraton Trophy winners, two different USILA Most Outstanding Player award winner, a pair of USILA Attackman of the Year honorees, two USILA Defenseman of the Year awards, three USILA Midfielder of the Year award recipients and 35 USILA Scholar All-America picks.
Duke’s 100 All-America picks under Danowski are the most of any program since 2007. Under Danowski, three Blue Devils, Matt Danowski in 2007, Ned Crotty in 2010 and Brennan O’Neill in 2023 have won the coveted Tewaaraton Award. Overall, the veteran head coach has mentored four Tewaaraton Award recipients with Doug Shanahan of Hofstra winning the inaugural trophy in 2001.
He is one of two coaches to have coached four winners of the prestigious honor and one of three to have at least two players in the elite fraternity. Duke has had 12 finalists for the award since 2007, the most of any program. In all, Danowski has coached 14 Tewaaraton Award finalists.
In addition to the three Tewaaraton Award winners, Danowski has mentored two overall Player of the Year honorees, three different Attackman of the Year winners, three national Midfielder of the Year honors and two National Defenseman of the Year accolades. Thirteen Blue Devils have garnered an ACC Player of the Year award under Danowski. Few programs across the country can claim to such dominance both in conference and nationally.
Overall in his 40-plus years coaching career, Danowski has coached 134 All-Americans, 20 conference MVPs and 153 all-conference choices.
Coaching Honors
The honors haven’t been unique to Danowski’s players. He has garnered countless awards for his success on the sidelines. The first of Danowski’s major coaching awards came in 1993 when he was selected as the NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year after leading Hofstra to its first NCAA Tournament since 1978. The Pride finish the season with a 10-6 overall record and No. 11 national ranking after advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals.
He collected four conference coach of the year awards during his time at Hofstra, being recognized as the top coach in the North Atlantic Conference in 1995 and 1996. Danowski garnered Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year accolades in 2002 and again in 2006 prior to being hired to lead the Blue Devils.
He also is a three-time winner of the Joseph “Frenchy” Julien Sportsmanship Award (1988, 1989 & 1994) presented by the Metropolitan New York Officials Association and received the James Adams Sportsmanship Award from the National Intercollegiate Lacrosse Officials Association in 1994. Amidst his time at Hofstra and with four conference coach of the year honors to his credit, Danowski was inducted into the Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001.
Danowski left his mark on the ACC immediately upon arrival at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to the ACC title and the ACC Coach of the Year award. He was voted as the top coach by his ACC peers again in 2011, 2012 and 2023.
On the national landscape, Danowski’s efforts in guiding Duke to its first NCAA title in 2010 earned him the USILA National Coach of the Year award. One of the most admired leaders in the sport, he was voted the IMCLA Howdy Myers Man of the Year, presented to the coach who has contributed to the game of lacrosse in a capacity over and above the normal efforts and in so doing, has shown unselfish and untiring devotion to the game, in 2013 and 2014.
Duke in the Classroom and Beyond
While the success on the field is unsurpassed in Duke lacrosse history, the student-athlete’s excellence in the classroom also is unrivaled. The Blue Devils consistently lead the ACC in All-ACC Academic picks as well as players on the ACC Academic Honor Roll. In 2023, every single member of the team finished the academic year with at least a 3.0 – and 36 who earned at least a 3.5 GPA. The team recorded a 3.58 team GPA in the spring of 2023 and has never had a team GPA below 3.0 in any semester.
Education has been a cornerstone in Danowski’s life, as he started his career as a teacher and was raised by educators, and he encourages his players to always continue learning. They have followed suit as 85 Blue Devils since 2007 have gone on to earn at least one advanced degree after garnering an undergraduate degree at Duke. Whether it is a master’s degree from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, medical or law school, the learning off the lacrosse field is paramount to being a Duke Blue Devil.
Duke in the Pros
The success on the lacrosse field doesn’t stop in Durham as Blue Devils have gone on to excellent careers at the next level in Major League Lacrosse and now the Premier Lacrosse League. Forty-three Blue Devils have been selected in either the MLL or PLL draft since 2008. Five have won MLL major awards and five different Blue Devils have won MLL titles. Most recently, CJ Costabile became the first Blue Devil to win both an MLL and a PLL title in his professional career.
Ned Crotty was the first Blue Devil to be drafted No. 1, while Myles Jones followed suit in 2016. Overall, 10 Blue Devils have been chosen in the top five of the MLL draft. Brad Smith, was Duke’s first selection in the inaugural PLL draft as the No. 9 pick.
Team USA
In November of 2016, U.S. Lacrosse announced Danowski as the next coach to lead Team USA as it prepared for the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Championship. Danowski quickly went to work in establishing a culture and coaching some of the world’s best players. He was faced with the arduous task of putting the U.S. back on top after a loss to Canada in 2014.
In a testament to what Danowski has built during his time at Duke, eight former Blue Devils were among the 49 selected out of the pool of 71 to vie for a spot on the World Championship roster and ultimately four Duke players - Ned Crotty, Matt Danowski, Will Haus and Jordan Wolf – donned the Team USA jersey in July of 2018.
After nearly two years of working and building the U.S. team in his vision, Danowski headed East to Israel in search of gold. The Red, White and Blue worked their way through pool play with relative ease and earned the top seed in the knockout round where it beat Australia in the semifinal.
The rematch with Canada in the gold medal game did not disappoint as the United States jumped out to an early lead before Canada roared back in front. The back and forth continued in the second half with former Blue Devil Will Haus and the U.S. defense digging in and holding Canada to just two goals in the final two quarters. The Canadians took an 8-7 lead with five minutes left, but the resilient U.S. squad tied it 8-8 and then with one second left after a Danowski-called timeout Tom Schreiber threw in the winner for the victory.
His success on the international stage led U.S. Lacrosse to make an unprecedented decision in keeping Danowski at the helm for a second term. He is the first coach in the history of the U.S. men’s program to serve more than one term.
Danowski stayed the course with the United States and five years later, the U.S. Men’s National Team captured gold once again with a thrilling victory over Canada. In true Danowski fashion, he created a team out of a collection of immensely talented individuals. Three Blue Devils suited up in the red, white and blue - JT Giles-Harris, Brennan O’Neill and Michael Sowers – and were instrumental in the team’s success. O’Neill, the lone collegiate player on the team, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for his 20 points over the course of the tournament. He had five goals in the gold medal victory.
In addition to Danowski’s success in coaching the United States, Blue Devils have fared well individually. Crotty has been on three national teams, winning gold in 2010 and 2018. Matt Zash joined Crotty on the 2010 team with former Blue Devil Kevin Cassese, while Dave Lawson wore the stars and stripes in 2014. In addition, 10 Blue Devils since 2008 have played in the U19/U21 World Championships with Team USA.
Prior to Duke
The Danowski era at Hofstra produced 34 USILA All-America selections, including first-team choices Brian Spallina (2000), Doug Shanahan (2001), Nicky Polanco (2002), Brett Moyer (2006) and Chris Unterstein (2006). In addition, Shanahan was the of the Tewaaraton Trophy winner as the nation’s top player in 2001.
In addition, Hofstra has sent 30 players to the annual North-South All-Star Game since 1986, with Shanahan (2001) and Moyer (2006) earning game MVP honors. Former Hofstra standout Blake Miller, a member of the 1998 United States squad that captured the world title and the 2004 MLL Offensive Player of the Year, Polanco and Shanahan played for the United States squad at the 2006 International Lacrosse Federation World Championships in Ontario, Canada. Polanco was a two-time MLL Defensive Player of the Year (2004 & 2005) while Shanahan was the MVP of the 2002 ILF World Championships in Perth, Australia.
Overall, Danowski finished with a 192-123 record in his 21 seasons with the Pride. He was named the conference coach of the year four times and won the 2006 CAA title en route to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Danowski spent three seasons as the head coach at Long Island University-C.W. Post, helping the Pioneers to a 27-16 (.628) ledger from 1983-85. He received his start in coaching in 1982 as an assistant coach at LIU-C.W. Post in 1982.
As a Scarlet Knight
A 1976 graduate of Rutgers University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science/education, Danowski was a four-year letterman in lacrosse and continues to hold several Scarlet Knight records. He established school single-game records for assists (13 vs. Penn State, 1973) and total points (14 vs. Penn State, 1974) and a single-season standard for assists with 54 in 1973.
He currently ranks second on Rutgers’ all-time list for assists (120) and is eighth in total points (177). Danowski, who helped the Scarlet Knights to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1973 and 1974, was a three-time recipient of the program’s Sasser Award, an honor presented annually to the team’s leader in assists. Born March 12, 1954 in Bronxville, N.Y., Danowski went on to earn a master’s degree in counseling/college student development from LIU-C.W. Post in 1978.
Family History
Danowski’s father, Ed, was an All-America halfback on the gridiron at Fordham in 1932 and 1933 who later starred for the New York Giants in the National Football League. The elder Danowski led the NFL in passing in 1935 and 1938, earning All-NFL honors in both of those seasons, and guided the Giants to league championships in 1934 and 1938. He later served as the head football coach at his alma mater from 1946-54.
Personal
Danowski and his wife, Patricia, have two children, Kate, a former lacrosse letterwinner and 2005 graduate of Quinnipiac University, and Matt, a 2008 Duke graduate and former captain of the lacrosse program, and five grandchildren.
