Colgate University Athletics

Stefan Decosse was named the Head Women's Hockey Coach at Colgate in July 2024. The promotion came after Decosse spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach where he accumulated a 202-69-20 record. 

Athletics Success
Decosse helped place 23 Colgate student-athletes on ECAC Hockey All-League teams since his first full season as an assistant coach in 2016-17. A total of seven Raiders have reached first-team All-League honors during his tenure, while four student-athletes have been named AWCHA All-Americans. Decosse contributed to the program’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Frozen Four and Colgate’s only national championship appearance in 2018, leading to the nomination of three All-USCHO selections. In total, he has coached nine All-USCHO Raiders.

Academic Success   
Decosse has had a hand in more than 150 ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team honorees, including a program-record 23 in 2022-23. His Raiders have earned national recognition with 34 AHCA All-American scholars and an NCAA Elite 90™ award winner at last year’s Frozen Four. Decosse also mentored a winner of Colgate University’s prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship in 2024.

Olympians, International and Pro Raiders
Under Decosse’s leadership, 22 Colgate alumni have been drafted into professional women’s hockey leagues. Six Raiders were selected in the 2024 PWHL Draft, the second-most of any collegiate program in the country. Internationally, 12 of Decosse’s Raiders have played for their country’s U18 teams while 13 have suited up on U22 squads. Decosse has also coached eight student-athletes who made national team rosters with an additional five attending international development camps. Three Olympians have played under Decosse in maroon and white.
Most recently, Decosse helped guide the Raiders to their third straight 30-win season in 2023-24 including the program's fourth-consecutive ECAC Championship and second-ever trip to the NCAA Frozen Four. 
 
During the 2020-21 season, the Raiders clinched the ECAC Regular Season Championship and won the ECAC Conference Championship for the first time in program history.

Decosse has taken on several different roles as an assistant coach, including stints as the director of recruiting, director of player development, and program liaison. Since 2019 he has ushered in five recruiting classes ranked in the top five nationally (neutralzone.net), including a 2023 class rated first among all 36 NCAA Division I women’s hockey programs.

His recruiting classes have also succeeded at the collegiate level with Decosse mentoring seven ECAC Hockey All-Rookie selections and two Rookies of the Year in 2021 and 2023.
  Decosse helped guide the Raiders to another successful season in 2018-19. They opened the season with their highest preseason national ranking at number five and did not disappoint with a 23-win campaign and a number two seed in the ECAC Tournament.

The Raiders advanced to the national championship game for the first time in program history in the 2017-18 season with the guidance of Decosse. Colgate won a program-record 34 games, shattering their previous high of 22 games. 

The 2017-18 Raiders experienced several program firsts including: first Regular Season ECAC Hockey Conference Title, first conference title game appearance, first NCAA Tournament berth, first Frozen Four, first national championship game.

In his first season as a full-time assistant coach, the Raiders recorded 22 victories for the second straight season along with a program record 13-game unbeaten streak and seven-game winning streak. The Raiders posted three separate winning streaks of at least five games.

Decosse volunteered for the Colgate coaching staff during the 2015-16 season, assisting with all aspects of the program. He helped prepare the daily practice plan, design game strategies, evaluate postgame film, and manage the program’s analytical and video efforts.
 
The North Vancouver, British Columbia, native played collegiate hockey at SUNY Geneseo. Decosse was the team’s assistant captain during his final two seasons and was the Knight's top scorer during the 2009-10 season.  He was also a four-year member of the SUNYAC All-Academic Team.
 
Decosse graduated from SUNY Geneseo with degrees in International Relations and Geography in 2012. He received his master’s in geography from Toronto’s York University in 2015.

He and his wife, Erin, reside in Hamilton with their two daughters and one son, Delia, Ania, and Olie.