John Desko is the NCAA career leader in postseason winning percentage (.821).
Desko Headlines Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2008
6/27/2008 4:57:47 PM | Men's Lacrosse, Track and Field
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Orange men’s lacrosse head coach John Desko will be inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 20 at dinner held at Drumlins Country Club. Desko is one of seven honorees in the Class of 2008 that was announced on Wednesday, June 26 at the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame exhibit at Driver’s Village.
Desko is one of three inductees with ties to Syracuse Athletics that will be honored this fall. Former SU associate athletic director Doris Soladay and track & field standout Myer Prinstein will also be enshrined.
Desko just completed his 10th year at the helm of the Syracuse lacrosse program. He guided the Orange to a 16-2 record and the NCAA Championship in 2008, the team’s fourth title under his direction. He lists third all-time among Division I head coaches with four national championships.
Desko owns an overall coaching record of 118-40 and ranks second among active coaches in career winning percentage (.747). He has fashioned a 23-5 all-time record in the postseason and is the NCAA career leader in tournament winning percentage at .821.
A graduate of West Genesee High School, Desko played for the Orange from 1976-79 and captained the team to its first NCAA playoff appearance as a senior. Following his playing career, Desko served as an assistant coach to Roy Simmons Jr. for 19 seasons and was part of six NCAA title squads. Overall, Desko owns 10 NCAA Championship rings as a head coach and an assistant.
He has coached two Tewaaraton Trophy winners (Mike Powell and Mike Leveille) and 35 individual All-Americans in his 10 years at the helm of the program.
Desko will be the third Orange lacrosse coach to be inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame joining Simmons Jr. (1990) and Roy Simmons Sr. (1987).
Soladay came to Syracuse as the Director of Women’s Athletics in 1975 and spent 20 years in the department, retiring as an associate athletic director in 1995. During her tenure, Soladay held offices on numerous state, regional and national Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) committees. After the merger of SU’s athletic departments, Soladay served on the NCAA Council from 1989-95.
Soladay was honored by the ECAC with the Katherine Ley Award in 1995 as the women’s administrator who serves as a role model for her colleagues, as well as a strong proponent of women’s issues. She was also a member of the ECAC Women’s Steering Committee from 1983-87.
Soladay passed away in 2001, but her spirit lives on in the form of the Soladay Award which is presented each year to the top male and female Syracuse student-athlete. The award is the highest honor bestowed upon a current Orange student-athlete and recognizes those who best exemplify her essence.
Prinstein was captain of the Orange track & field team in late 1800s and early 1900s and won the gold medal in the triple jump and the silver medal in the long jump at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Four years later, at the Summer Games in St. Louis, Prinstein claimed the gold medal in both events.
Prinstein passed away in 1925 and was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.
The other members of this year’s Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame class are: Tom Dotterrer (coach), Chris Jones (baseball), Mike Kitts (official) and John T. Smith (official).
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