Sally Starr Position: Head Coach

Starr Radio Interviews:
BU All-Access Radio Show Interview - September 19, 2009
BU All-Access Radio Show Interview - September 18, 2008
BU All-Access Radio Show Interview - August 31, 2008
BU All-Access Radio Show Interview - December 22, 2007

Over the course of 28 seasons as the head coach of the highly successful Boston University field hockey program, Sally Starr has certainly established herself as one of the finest coaches in the nation.

A veteran of 10 NCAA tournament appearances as the coach of the Terriers, Starr led BU to three consecutive NCAA appearances (2005-07) for the first time in program history. The Terriers have claimed the America East title in three of the last four years and Starr has been twice named the Dita/NFHCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year during that span (2005, 2007).

Starr is 12th all-time in career wins among college coaches with 358. Her teams have posted winning records in 21 of the past 25 seasons and have been ranked among the top programs in the country since the mid 1980s.

In 2007, Starr guided BU to its winningest season ever, as the Terriers posted an 18-6 record and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 1991. Under Starr's tutelage, Pam Spuehler became the first BU athlete to ever be a finalist for the Honda Award.

The 2006 campaign marked the second time in program history that Starr has guided the Terriers to back-to-back NCAA appearances, as they also performed the feat in 1999 and 2000.

In 2005, Starr guided the Terriers to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. BU dropped a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker to Big Ten champion Michigan in the NCAA First Round, but in the process, the Terriers proved that they belonged among the nation's top programs.

Starr has posted an impressive 339-211-19 record in her tenure at Boston University, which includes 10 NCAA tournament appearances, three ECAC Tournament appearances, the 1987 ECAC Championship, seven America East championships, 10 America East regular-season titles and 12 appearances in the conference title game.

Under Starr's guidance, the program has been remarkably stable over the past quarter-century. Since 1985, the Terriers have finished the season ranked in the top 20 17 times, and have finished in the top 10 six times. In 1985, Starr led BU to its best finish ever, a 17-4-2 record and a trip to the NCAA semifinals. The Terriers wrapped up that season ranked fourth in the country after nearly making it to the championship game - falling to eventual national champion Connecticut, 2-1.

The 1996 season ranks among the most successful in Starr's tenure. Boston University established a school record with 16 regular-season wins, received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, and finished the year ranked eighth in the nation.

The Terriers have been a frequent participant in national and regional tournaments. In 1987, Starr directed the club to the ECAC Tournament title. In 1989, the Terriers made their second appearance in the NCAA tournament, and in 1991, the Terriers advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

Including the two years she spent as head coach of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., Starr has totaled a 358-225-21 coaching record. Her 350th career victory came on Sept. 7, 2008, with a 1-0 victory at Delaware. She reached the 300-win mark on Nov. 5, 2004, with a 3-0 home victory over New Hampshire in the America East semifinals and earned her 250th with a 5-1 victory against Vermont in 2000.

Starr began her coaching career at the University of New Hampshire in 1978. While earning her master's degree, she served as the head coach of the Wildcat junior varsity field hockey team and as an assistant coach with the women's lacrosse team. The following year, she began a two-year stint as head coach at Bucknell.

During her 26 years at the Division I level (BU gained Division I status in 1983), Starr has coached 31 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Americans, including six first-team selections, and 61 of her players have earned a combined 104 All-Region selections. Seven of her players have received America East Player of the Year honors, and seven were conference Rookies of the Year. Terrier players have earned first- or second-team all-conference honors a total of 86 times. Under Starr's guidance, 10 Terriers have been elected to the BU Athletic Hall of Fame. In recognition of her efforts, Starr was named America East Coach of the Year six times (1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2007). In 1994, she received the William French Award from Boston University's Hall of Fame. This award is presented annually for excellence in the coaching profession.

A native of Camp Hill, Pa., Starr played scholastically at Shawnee High School in Medford Lakes, N.J., and was one of the school's inaugural Hall of Fame members in September 2007.

In 1978, Starr went on to graduate from Ursinus College, where she guided the field hockey team to three consecutive AIAW Division I championship matches. She also earned varsity letters in basketball and lacrosse and was inducted into the Ursinus Hall of Fame in 1994.

Following graduation, she was selected to the U.S. Field Hockey Team and participated in the 1978 and 1979 National Sports Festivals. She was also a member of the national lacrosse team in 1978.

An active member of the national field hockey community, Starr coaches at U.S. Development programs and camps, and is a member of the U.S. Field Hockey Association. In 1998, she served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team, which competed in the World Cup in the Netherlands.

In 2008, Starr was one of 18 coaches invited to the inaugural Level III accreditation course that was hosted by USFHA technical director Terry Walsh in Palm Springs, Calif., and was one of only five who received the accredtiation.