Worth Noting:
- Program’s all-time coaching wins leader, entering 2022 with 76
- Program’s single-season wins leader with 13 in 2018
Honors & Awards:
- 2017 NEC Coach of the Year
- 2012 NEC Coach of the Year
Championships:
- 2019 NEC Tournament
- 2018 NEC Tournament
- 2012 NEC Regular Season
Andrew McMinn completed his 10th season as head coach of the Robert Morris University men’s lacrosse team in 2021.
2021 marked the 16th overall season for McMinn at RMU, as he began his tenure as an assistant coach during the program’s second season in 2006. The program has excelled on the field and academically under his leadership, capturing two Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament titles and subsequent NCAA Tournament berths, a NEC regular-season crown, and numerous conference and national academic plaudits bestowed upon his student-athletes.
Additionally, as of the 2020 season, Robert Morris has the highest presence of any university or college competing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) with 12 former Colonials competing.
Facing a daunting independent schedule in 2021 with 11 of 13 games away from Moon Township, RMU posted its fifth consecutive winning record at 7-6. The Colonials’ six losses all came to NCAA Tournament teams, including a quartet of nationally-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schools in Duke, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Virginia. RMU fell by a 16-12 margin to the No. 1 Blue Devils in its season opener, and took the national champion No. 9 Cavaliers to the brink before falling 14-12 on March 20. Becoming a new member of the ASUN Conference in 2022, the Colonials were victorious in all four of their matchups against future league foes, topping Air Force (14-13), Bellarmine (17-8), Cleveland State (15-7), and Utah (16-12). McMinn closed the 2021 campaign by leading the South team in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division I/II All-Star Game, coaching alongside assistants Sean Doyle and Brandon Mangan.
Graduate attack Ryan Smith put together one of the best seasons in program history in 2021, earning five different All-America nods. Smith was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, named to the Tewaaraton Men’s Watch List, and finished second nationally in goals per game (3.69) and fourth in points per game (5.46). He broke or tied a bevy of program records over the course of the year, including career points, career goals, career games played, single-season points, single-season points per game, single-season goals per game, single-game points, and single-game assists. The Burlington, Ont. native was selected third overall by the Rochester Knighthawks in the 2020 NLL Entry Draft, and went 30th overall (fourth round) to Chaos Lacrosse Club in the 2021 Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) College Draft.
RMU went 4-2 in the abbreviated 2020 campaign, rattling off three straight wins before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the remainder of the season. The Colonials, who were picked to finish first in the new NEC West Division according to a preseason poll of the league’s coaches, opened the season with a 22-10 win at Canisius, and defeated High Point (15-11) at home, Detroit Mercy (16-13) in the Motor City under the lights, and Marquette (11-10) with a last-second goal.
Robert Morris became the second program in NEC history to win consecutive conference tournaments in 2019, coming back from near elimination to defend its title. The Colonials finished with a 9-8 overall record and 4-2 mark in the NEC, needing a 16-15 victory in overtime against Hobart in the regular-season finale to qualify for the NEC Tournament. After doing so, RMU shocked top-seeded Mount St. Mary’s in overtime, 13-12, then defeated the Statesmen once more, 11-10, to secure to league’s NCAA Tournament berth.
Senior midfielder Tyson Gibson was named NEC Player of the Year – the fourth in program history – and later made RMU history by being selected with the first overall selection by the expansion New York Riptide in the 2019 NLL Entry Draft. Gibson, who also was an USILA All-America and Scholar All-America pick, headlined a group of five Colonials (Daniel Smith, Ryan Smith, Brandon Sulhoff, Jack Toomb) who earned All-NEC recognition.
McMinn presided over program history in 2018, leading RMU to its first-ever NEC Tournament crown and NCAA Tournament bid, as well as a single-season record for wins (13). The 2018 squad followed that up with its first “May Madness” victory at Canisius, the site of McMinn’s 100th career game as head coach and 200th men’s lacrosse game in Colonial history earlier that year, and an exciting NCAA First Round contest at defending national champion Maryland.
The team won its second straight NEC Sportsmanship Award while boasting nine All-NEC honorees, including NEC Defensive Player of the Year Zachary Bryant, who went on to play for Major League Lacrosse’s Ohio Machine and get drafted by the expansion San Diego Seals of the NLL. Meanwhile, one of McMinn’s most decorated players, Kiel Matisz ’12, became the first RMU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee to represent men’s lacrosse.
RMU made its fifth NEC Tournament in history and fourth under McMinn in 2017. A second NEC Coach of the Year award was bestowed upon him and the NEC Team Sportsmanship Award upon the program for the first time since his first year at the helm. Seven Colonials earned All-NEC selections, and JonPatrik “JP” Kealey became the 17th alumnus drafted into the NLL.
McMinn led the Colonials to their fourth overall NEC Tournament appearance and third of his tenure in 2016. He saw five players earn All-NEC honors, and added two RMU alums to the pool of eleven who were competing at the professional level in the NLL at the time.
The Colonials finished with a pair of down seasons in 2014 and 2015, but the foundation was set for future success with 10 players earning All-NEC recognition over that stretch. RMU finished 2014 third nationally in caused turnovers per game (10.14), and the athletic department won the NEC Institutional Academic Award for the second time in McMinn’s tenure, thanks in part to his team maintaining a grade point average above 3.0.
The Colonials accomplished a handful of firsts in McMinn’s second season at the helm, finishing an overall record of 8-7 and a mark of 3-2 in NEC play. RMU defeated Quinnipiac in the NEC Tournament semifinals, 15-14, for the program’s first postseason win. The victory also pushed the Colonials through to their first NEC Tournament championship game. The team owned the top ranking nationally in caused turnovers per game (11.27) and man-up offense (.511).
In his first season as a collegiate head coach, McMinn continued the rapid rise of the RMU’s men’s lacrosse program. He led the Colonials to a then-program-record 11 wins in just 15 games, including posting a perfect 5-0 record in league play. As a result, RMU claimed the NEC regular-season crown, the first conference title of any kind for the men’s lacrosse program. Kiel Matisz captured NEC Player of the Year plaudits and was named to the USILA All-America Third Team, and repeated as the NEC Scholar-Athlete recipient for men’s lacrosse. As a team, the Colonials captured their second consecutive NEC Team GPA Award with a mark of 3.140.
RMU has also been in the national conversation under McMinn. The Colonials used a six-game winning streak to earn a national ranking for the second time in program history in 2012, claiming the No. 20 spot in the April 30 edition of the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Six years later during its historic 2018 campaign, RMU spent six consecutive weeks in the national rankings, rising as high as No. 13 on March 26 in the Nike/USILA Coaches’ Poll. The Colonials ultimately finished the season slotted No. 15 in the Maverik Media/Inside Lacrosse Poll, their first time inside the top 20 of the final rankings.
RMU has fared well under McMinn against nationally-ranked foes, earning six wins since McMinn took over as head coach. The Colonials knocked off No. 18 Ohio State, 9-7, in Columbus in 2012, and later beat No. 20 Bryant that season, 13-12. In 2018, RMU won three consecutive meetings against nationally-ranked opponents, topping No. 16 Penn State (12-9), No. 18 Marquette (12-2), and No. 20 Saint Joseph’s (9-8, OT) all on the road.
Prior to being named head coach, McMinn had previously as the associate head coach for the Colonials. He had served on the RMU staff for six seasons, helping it develop from its earliest stages as a program to one that had secured three consecutive winning seasons and a national ranking along with its first postseason berth in the two years prior to his appointment as head coach.
McMinn progressively earned additional responsibilities within the Colonial program the years leading up to his appointment, including aiding in the hiring and management of other staff members and overseeing certain budgetary matters. He also represented RMU as a speaker at the USILA national convention in December 2009, where he led a presentation on transition offense.
Before joining the Colonials’ coaching staff, McMinn was a standout goaltender for the Providence Friars of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). In three seasons as the starting keeper, he helped lead his team to two regular-season titles, a MAAC Tournament Championship and a berth in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. He was a three-time All-MAAC selection, a 2004 MAAC All-Tournament Team honoree, and he held the top two single-season goals against average marks in MAAC history at the time of his graduation.
During his playing career, he ranked among the top goaltenders in Division I in both save percentage and goals against average. He ranked fourth nationally in GAA in 2003, allowing just 6.91 tallies per game, and was seventh nationally in save percentage in 2005 with a .599 mark.
McMinn earned his Bachelor’s degree in management with a minor in finance from Providence in 2005. He completed his Master’s degree in instructional leadership with a concentration in sport management from Robert Morris in 2014.
THE MCMINN FILE
Birthdate: Jan. 5, 1983
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Alma Mater / Year: Providence College / 2005, Robert Morris University / 2014
Degree: Bachelor of Science (Management), Master of Science (Instructional Leadership)
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Robert Morris University
(Moon Township, Pa.)
- Head Coach (2012-present)
- Associate Head Coach (2011)
- Assistant Coach (2006-11)
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
Providence College
(Providence, R.I.)
- Goaltender (2002-05)
