Mike Abbott, architect behind Colgate’s offensive resurgence since 2012, was promoted in June 2015 to associate head coach of the Raider men’s lacrosse program.
Abbott just completed his fifth season at Colgate under head coach Mike Murphy. Among his highlights thus far with the Raiders were tying for the Patriot League’s 2015 regular season title and then captured their second tournament championship with impressive wins over Bucknell and Army.
Colgate in 2015 advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second time in four years, finishing 14th nationally in the final Cascade/Maverik Media Poll. Colgate during the Murphy era owns a 45-34 record.
Colgate’s offense under Abbott has posted two of the top eight scoring seasons in school history, beginning with 2012’s run to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. That year under Tewaaraton Award-winner Peter Baum ’13, Colgate scored 236 goals and 129 assists for 365 points – tops on the program season charts in all three categories.
The 2012 Raiders achieved the highest final ranking in program history with the No. 8 spot in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Statistically, Colgate sported the top offense in the Patriot League and ranked second nationally in scoring offense at 13.1 goals per game, third in man-up offense at 48.5 percent, and fifth in points per game at 20.3.
Building the Culture
Colgate in 2015 finished with 169 goals for seventh-best in school history, 97 assists to tie for seventh, and 266 points for eighth. The Raiders this year were especially skillful in man-up situations, when they converted 56.0 percent to place second in Division I behind national-champion Denver at 60.3.
Colgate shot the ball at a 35.3-percent clip to finish fourth nationally.
Colgate continued that multilevel success in 2015. Five team members were named All-Patriot League, led by first-teamers Ryan Walsh and Matt Clarkson. Anthony Abbadessa was chosen Patriot League Rookie of the Year – Colgate’s third such honor in the last four seasons. In addition, John Baker and Matt Yeager were selected to the 12-member Academic All-Patriot League Team.
Murphy has molded a terrific staff that continues to pay dividends. In addition to Abbott’s duties as offensive coordinator, assistant coach Jud Hall handles the defensive responsibilities and Matt Abbott serves as volunteer assistant. Nick DelMonaco manages the lacrosse operations to round out the staff.
Success Between the Lines
Abbott came to Colgate from SUNY Cortland, where he served as an assistant coach for five seasons. At Cortland, he was the recruiting and offensive coordinator. He helped lead the Red Dragons to the 2009 NCAA championship, along with three-straight title game appearances from 2007-09 and other NCAA tourney runs that reached the semifinals in 2010 and quarterfinals in 2011.
The Syracuse native also experienced success between the lines. As a player, Abbott won a Division I national championship in 2003 while at Virginia before moving to Cortland, where he was a two-year member of the men's lacrosse team and tallied 114 career points from 83 goals and 31 assists. He helped lead the Red Dragons to the NCAA Division III title as a senior in 2006 and twice was named All-America First Team.
Abbott was the ECAC Upstate New York and SUNYAC Player of the Year as a junior, and received All-ECAC First Team and All-Conference honors as a senior. He earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from SUNY Cortland in 2009.
Mike’s brother, Matt, serves as a volunteer assistant on the Colgate staff in addition to his play with the Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse and the U.S. National Team. And Mike’s father, Tom, is one of the top Division I lacrosse referees. He was named in July 2015 the NCAA's national coordinator for men's lacrosse officiating.
