BALTIMORE - University of Denver men's lacrosse head coach Bill Tierney received the F. Morris Touchstone Award as the USILA's Division I Men's Coach of the Year on Friday at the Nike Lacrosse IMLCA Awards Luncheon.

"Blessed, honored and humbled are the three words that come to mind when bestowed an award like this," head coach Tierney said. "BLESSED to be coaching young men who sacrifice individual accolades for team success and to be surrounded by a coaching staff who is talented, loyal and tireless as they do so much for our team and ask for no credit. I wouldn't be accepting this award today without Matt Brown, John Orsen, my son Trevor Tierney, Rick Mick, Josie White and Sue Kelley on our staff. HONORED to represent the University of Denver and our athletic department, as they provide us with the support, facilities and the motivation to be successful. HUMBLED by the fact that this award is voted on by my professional peers who know the effort it takes to achieve an NCAA Championship. We are thankful that 2015 was such a memorable year, and now look forward to another exciting and successful 2016 season."

Friday marked the second time the 32nd-year head coach has received this award. Tierney also won the award following the 1992 season and his first of now an NCAA-record seven national titles. Prior to his time at Princeton, Tierney won the 1983 Division III Coach of the Year award while at RIT.

The seventh-year DU head coach became the first Division I men's lacrosse coach to win national titles in charge of two different programs after leading Denver to its first in program history in 2015. Denver also became the first school whose home state doesn't share a boarder with the Atlantic Ocean to win the men's lacrosse title last Memorial Day.

Tierney has produced a 355-118 record in his previous 31 seasons as a head coach, including an 83-25 mark in his first six season in the Mile High City. Under Tierney, Denver has also gone 33-4 in conference play and 43-5 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. The Pioneers will enter the 2016 campaign with the longest active home winning streak in the country at 16 games.

In addition to his national coach of the year honors, Tierney was elected to the Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1995, the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2009 was named the US Lacrosse Magazine's Person of the Year.

Outside of his collegiate coaching honors, Tierney coached the United States to a World Championship in 1998, and was then inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame as part of its 2002 class. Last summer, Tierney had the new U.S. Headquarters training field in Sparks, Md., named after him.

Tierney becomes Denver's fifth different coach of the year recipient, joining Murray Armstrong (Hockey, 1960), Jim Bain (Swimming, 1978, 1985), George Gwozdecky (Hockey, 2005) and Andy LeRoy (Skiing, 2014).

SEASON TICKETS: There is only one way to guarantee yourself a seat in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in 2016 as limited season tickets are still available. Fans interested in becoming new season ticket holders in 2016 can purchase their tickets here. Current season ticket holders should have received their invoices in the mail, and have until December 17 to renew for the 2016 campaign.

PRESEASON: The Pioneers will play two games before their February 13 season-opener at Air Force. Denver will travel to Bradenton, Fla., on January 10 to take on the United States National Team, before returning to the Mile High City to host Johns Hopkins on January 30 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium (10 a.m. MT).

ABOUT DENVER: Head coach Bill Tierney enters his seventh season in 2016 after not only leading Denver to its first National Championship in 2015, but also becoming the first NCAA Men's Lacrosse Division I head coach to win National Championships at two different institutions. The Levittown, N.Y., native also has an NCAA-record seven National Championships.

Denver returns three of its top four point getters from a 2015 team that finished the campaign on a 13-game winning streak en-route to a National Championship. Junior Connor Cannizzaro (Cazenovia, N.Y.) shattered Denver's single-season points record in his first season with the program, finishing with 90 points on 57 goals and 33 assists. Classmates Zach Miller (Steamburg, N.Y.) and Tyler Pace (Coquitlam, B.C) return in the Denver midfield after finishing with 61 (26G, 35A) and 49 (22G, 27A) points, respectively in 2015.

Two-time USILA All-American, including 2015 second-team selection, Christian Burgdorf (Westfield, N.J.) and 25-game starter Pat Karole (Glen Ridge, N.J.) will return for the Pioneers defense in 2016.

Denver had five Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Americans represented in the 2016 Face-Off Yearbook. The Pioneers also checked in at No. 2 in the 2016 Face-Off Yearbook Top-20.

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