After five seasons at the helm of the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team, head coach Scott Nelson will not return to the program, BU Director of Athletics Patrick Elliott announced in a press release on Monday afternoon. Nelson posted a 24-45 overall record as BU’s head coach, including a 10-17 mark in conference play.
Nelson was hired by Binghamton on May 18, 2011 and in his third season he led the Bearcats to the America East (AE) Tournament. BU went 4-1 in AE play that season and went into the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Binghamton fell to UMBC in its first-round matchup in what proved to be BU’s only tournament appearance under Nelson.
Before his tenure at BU, Nelson served as head coach at Marist from 2009-2011. Nelson found success with the Red Foxes, guiding the team to two consecutive eight win seasons in his final two years. In 2011 the team finished the season with seven straight wins — a program record. Nelson was the head coach at Brown University for six seasons before landing at Marist. He led the team to a top-10 national ranking in 2004 and won the New England Coach of the Year Award that same season.
This season the Bearcats went 4-10 and 2-4 in conference play, missing the postseason by one game. Binghamton struggled offensively throughout the year, averaging just 9.43 goals per game, which was fifth in the AE. After blowing a 5-0 lead to Vermont in its final regular-season game, BU’s season ended with a 17-9 loss.
A national search for BU’s next head lacrosse coach will begin immediately, according to the Athletics Department.
Nelson could not be reached to comment for this story.