PLEASANTVILLE, NY - Late Thursday morning, the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) released the IMLCA and US Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) 2024 Awards, presented by Axia Time. After capping off his 11th season with Pace University, Men's Lacrosse Head Coach, Tom Mariano, is set to receive the Howdy Myers Man of the Year Award.

This specific award is presented in honor of one of the sport's most outstanding coaches. Howdy Myers coached 17 championship teams at St. Paul's, Johns Hopkins, and Hofstra. Myers was elected to the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1971 and the nominee (Mariano) for this award should have contributed to the game of lacrosse in a capacity over and above the normal effort and in so doing, has shown unselfish and untiring devotion to the game.

Mariano has made a tremendous impact on the Pace Men's Lacrosse Program. During his tenure, he holds a career record of 110-56 (66%), claimed the 2017 Northeast-10 (NE10) Conference Co-Coach of the Year Award, led the team to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance (2017), featured the best record performance in 2019 with the second most single-season wins (13), and had his team post back-to-back 11-4 seasons to be ranked as high as #7 in Division II Lacrosse.

On top of his work with the Setters, Mariano has served as the president of the USILA since 2019 and was previously named Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Coach of the Year (2017) after leading the Florida Launch to their first-ever playoff berth. Fast forward to 2019, Mariano led the Chesapeake Bayhawks to capture the 2019 MLL Championship Title.

Mariano states, "It's an honor to win this award. Many of the previous winners are coaches that I have always looked up to. Lacrosse is an amazing game and has given me so much and I've always tried to give back to the game any way that I can. Thank you to my players, coaches, and my family for allowing me to be a part of this,"

Mariano's work ethic, passion, and love for the game does not go unnoticed, and that is why Pace Athletics is extending its congratulations to one of our most dedicated coaches.
 

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Both associations (IMLCA/USILA) will honor and acknowledge over 16 individuals within men's college lacrosse on December 13th in Orlando, Florida at their co-hosted Annual Awards Luncheon presented by AXIA Time during the IMLCA's Coaches Summit event. 
 
AXIA Time, founded by former University of Pennsylvania Men's lacrosse player and 1988 Ivy League Champion, John Kanaras, has partnered with both associations to create custom timepieces for the six individuals receiving IMLCA's Outstanding Coach and USILA's Coach of the Year honors.
 
Nominations for the IMLCA's four awards are submitted by active members of the organization and voted on by an Awards Committee, chaired by Bentley University Men's Lacrosse Head Coach, Jim Murphy. The IMLCA's Outstanding Assistant Coaches are each nominated by their respective head coaches and voted on by a committee chaired by retired IMLCA Hall of Fame coach, Jack Emmer.