Read the press release on Ireland's hiring

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dan Ireland as our new Head Coach, Men and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field. As we expected, there was a tremendous amount of interest in the position. Coaches from many outstanding universities across the country expressed a serious desire to lead the La Salle program.

As I said before, “Torp” will never be replaced and his spirit will continue to live on at La Salle. At this time, however, I am confident that Dan will keep the tradition alive by winning championships and by positively impacting student-athletes in the same exceptional manner as Charles.

Dan joins us after 12 seasons as the Head Men's Cross Country Coach and Assistant Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach at Yale University. While at Yale, Dan positioned the Bulldogs among the region's elite teams, finishing near the top of the field at NCAA Regionals and IC4As.

He coached two All-Americans, three IC4A Champions, and six Ivy League Champions. A total of 137 student-athletes earned All-East honors and 41 received All-Ivy League citations. His teams also performed well in the classroom, as Yale is the only team in the country to receive USTFCCCA All-Academic honors the past 12 years.

Prior to Yale, Ireland spent six seasons on the staff at his alma mater, Georgetown University. He helped the Hoyas to 14 Big East Championships and 12 top ten finishes at the NCAA Championship. As a student-athlete at Georgetown, Ireland was a three-time NCAA qualifier in cross country and won the 1991 Big East 10,000m.

We spoke with many people that have worked with Dan during his career and were impressed how respected Dan is among his colleagues. The feedback was outstanding from everyone with whom we spoke.

A special thank you to the members of our search group, especially the current student-athletes and alumni athletes that helped us during the process. I would also like to thank John Lyons, our Senior Associate Athletics Director, who managed the search process. Your time and contributions were invaluable.

It has certainly been a difficult few weeks since Charles' passing. But the future of the program is bright. We have a strong core group of student-athletes that will keep the program among the Atlantic 10 and region's elite. We will continue to involve and outreach to our alumni and alumnae athletes going forward.

I remain committed to the program and, on a personal basis, look forward to supporting Dan and his staff as they become an important part of the La Salle Family. Please join me in welcoming Dan to La Salle University.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tom Brennan
Director of Athletics, La Salle University