BALTIMORE - UMBC Director of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation, Tiffany D. Tucker, announced the hiring of Mike Faith as the Retrievers' next women's lacrosse coach today. 

"It's A Great Day To Be A Retriever!" said Tucker. "Coach Faith's wealth of success and experience stood out throughout the entire process. He has been a winner and a great representative of the game of women's lacrosse his entire career. We could not be more excited to bring him into the fold to lead our program."

A former assistant with the Retrievers, Faith returns to UMBC with 22 years of head coaching experience, winning over 300 games at the Division II and III levels. He recently completed his first season at the helm of the Stevenson program, winning 10 games with the Mustangs after posting an 11-7 record in his lone season with Millersville. 

"Coming back to UMBC is a full-circle moment for me," said Faith. "This is where I grew as a coach, competed at the highest level, and learned what it takes to build something special. Returning to lead this program is a true honor, and I can't thank Director of Athletics Tiffany D. Tucker, UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby, and the entire search committee enough for their belief in me."

Prior to Millersville, Faith led Division III powerhouse Franklin & Marshall for 12 seasons, winning 192 games during that stretch. Faith got his head coaching start with Elizabethtown in 2005, posting a record of 96-47 with the Blue Jays before taking over at F&M. 

In totality, Faith led his programs to the NCAA Tournament in 13 of his 22 seasons, reached four Final Fours, won seven conference championships, and was named conference coach of the year five times. In addition, Faith was named regional coach of the year three times at the Division III level. Faith's programs have won 10 or more games in 18 of the 20 seasons not shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During his time at Franklin & Marshall, Faith's teams finished in the top-15 of the national rankings in every single season, reaching the Elite Eight nine times. In each of his final three seasons with Elizabethown, the program ended the season ranked inside the top-20 each time and reached the program's first NCAA Tournament. 

A 2000 graduate and former All-American as a player at Salisbury, Faith started his coaching career as the Offensive Coordinator at Richmond. After completing one season with the Spiders, Faith joined the UMBC staff in 2001, helping to lead the program to its first-ever NCAA DI Tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003. 

Throughout Faith's career, 128 of his players have earned all-conference honors, 77 have been named all-region, and 40 have been named IWLCA All-Americans. Under Faith's guidance, his players have been named Conference Player of Defensive Player of the Year 14 times. He has also coached two Division III Attackers of the Year and two Division III Defenders of the Year. 

"We're going to compete with everything we have, take pride in wearing UMBC across our chest, and build a program our student-athletes are proud to play for, and our community can't wait to watch," said Faith.