James Purpura

Title

Head Coach
Email

jpurpur1@umbc.edu

James Purpura was announced as the seventh head coach of the UMBC men’s lacrosse program on July 14, 2026.

Purpura arrived at UMBC after spending the 2026 season as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Ohio State University. In his lone season in Columbus, he helped the Buckeyes capture the Big Ten regular-season championship and post their second consecutive 10-win season, marking the program’s first back-to-back 10-win campaigns since 1966.

Ohio State spent more than 10 weeks ranked inside the national top 10 and climbed as high as No. 6. The Buckeyes earned four nationally ranked victories during the season and captured the Creator’s Trophy.

Five Buckeyes earned All-Big Ten honors, three were named USILA All-Americans and one was selected as a Tewaaraton Award nominee. Three freshmen earned Big Ten All-Freshman honors, including two offensive players, while four Buckeyes were selected in the PLL and NLL drafts. Purpura also helped assemble a nationally ranked recruiting class during his time in Columbus.

Prior to Ohio State, Purpura spent five seasons as the head coach at Virginia Military Institute from 2021-25, leading one of the most significant turnarounds in college lacrosse. He inherited a program that went winless during the shortened 2020 season and had not won more than four games in a season since 2008.

Under Purpura, the Keydets increased their win total in each of his five seasons at the helm, becoming the only program in the country to increase its win total in five consecutive seasons. The turnaround culminated in a 10-4 campaign in 2025, VMI’s first 10-win season in 37 years. The Keydets also received votes in both the USILA Coaches Poll and Inside Lacrosse Media Poll during the 2025 season.

VMI’s 2025 senior class finished its career with 27 Division I victories, the most by a graduating class in program history. Purpura guided the program through membership in three different conferences during his tenure, competing in the Southern Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Northeast Conference.

The Keydets developed into one of the nation’s most productive teams on both ends of the field. In 2025, VMI finished second nationally in scoring offense, third in extra-man offense and third in shooting percentage while setting a program record for goals. Defensively, the Keydets finished 16th nationally in scoring defense and 17th in man-down defense while allowing their fewest goals in 25 years. VMI also led the nation in clearing percentage.

Purpura guided VMI to just the second conference tournament appearance in program history in 2022 and was named VMI’s Coach of the Year in 2024. He concluded his five-year tenure ranked second all-time in career victories at VMI, highlighted by the program’s first 10-win season in 37 years.

Prior to VMI, Purpura earned his first head coaching opportunity at Arcadia University.

In two seasons at Arcadia, Purpura compiled a 14-11 record and led the Knights to the first postseason appearance and first winning season in program history. He was named the 2019 MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year. In 2020, Arcadia climbed as high as 19th nationally in scoring offense before the season was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to Arcadia, Purpura was the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at VMI.

Prior to Arcadia, Purpura served as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Queens University of Charlotte in 2016. The Royals reached the South Atlantic Conference championship game, earned a national ranking as high as No. 12 and established a then-program record for goals in a season.

Purpura served as a graduate assistant at Frostburg State in 2015. At Frostburg State, he helped the Bobcats earn the first national ranking in program history, win a school-record 16 games and reach the Capital Athletic Conference championship game.

Purpura began his collegiate coaching career at SUNY Brockport in 2014 as an offensive coordinator.

A native of Pittsford, New York, Purpura competed collegiately at Mount St. Mary’s and SUNY Geneseo. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in geography from SUNY Geneseo in 2013 and later earned a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Frostburg State University in 2015.