Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by CageSage
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Shannon Smith - Head Coach at Hofstra...
Confirmed - story to be made available shortly.


Any thoughts on how the Hofstra gig might affect Top Guns? At least it keeps her local, as opposed to getting a job at some school out of state...
First and foremost, congratulations to Coach Smith for landing the role at Hofstra. All of our insiders report that she demonstrated a vision for the Pride program that was a step beyond all other applicants.

That said, the fact is that she will be the youngest women's head coach in all of NCAA Division I sports. She takes the role without any collegiate assistant coaching experience and will need to rely heavily on her on-field leadership and coaching experience with the Top Guns.

Despite positive public reports that she has given, there is a ton of work to do at Hofstra as the women's program substantially missed the mark this year. Since the elimination of the football program, athletic donations are down roughly 30% and the lacrosse program is being strained to carry the load.

So, why might Hofstra have made this unorthodox head coaching selection? Does the University want to draw more women's players from the local area? Is the University tired of losing press pages to Stonybrook's program under Joe Spallina this season? Is the in-coming Athletic Director trying to assert a new direction by taking new coaches who might be more malleable?

Here's the bottom line. Hofstra's women's program is at least two recruiting seasons away from being a serious force in the NCAA Division I world again. That is nearly a lifetime in college athletics.

Undoubtedly, the selection of Smith must be a longer term play to help the program through the transition period. The question is whether Smith will have the stomach to put in three years or more dealing with a team in transition.