Virginia Women's Lacrosse Coach Julie Myers Resigns After 28 Years

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia women’s lacrosse coach Julie Myers resigned Wednesday, ending a 28-year run that included eight final four appearances and an NCAA championship in 2004.

The only year the Cavaliers did not make the NCAA tournament under Myers’ watch came in 2020, when there was no postseason due to the pandemic. During her tenure, no other Division I coach matched that accomplishment.

Myers’ all-time record at UVA stands at 349-181 (.659). Her win total ranks fifth overall in NCAA Division I women’s collegiate lacrosse history and 11th overall for all NCAA divisions. She was just the third head coach in the Virginia program’s history that dates back to 1976.

As a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach, Myers has been associated with the UVA program for 37 years. With Virginia’s national championship victory in 2004, she became the first person in women’s lacrosse history at the NCAA Division I level to win a title as a player (1991) and a head coach (2004). She also won one as an assistant coach (1993).

Following the 2004 season, Myers was named the national coach of the year by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association. She also received national coach of the year honors in 2008.

“Leading the Virginia's women's lacrosse program for the past 28 years has been an opportunity of a lifetime and a lifetime it has been,” Myers said. “While it is hard to leave a place and people that you love so deeply, I am excited to explore leadership opportunities outside of athletics. I am also looking forward to spending time being a parent cheering for my own kids from the college sidelines. They have supported and loved my UVA teams since the day they were born here in Charlottesville.

“Thank you to all of my players, their families, my staff, all of my co-workers, and the athletic department and other supporters who have all been integral to the success of this women's lacrosse program, to my career and to me personally. Especially to my players. It has been an honor and a privilege to coach each of you. While I am incredibly proud of the many accomplishments we have enjoyed through the years, I will treasure most the memories and the relationships this profession of coaching has provided for me.

“I am so very lucky and will be forever grateful for all of these experiences, while representing the University of Virginia. I wish the team all of the very best in its next chapter for the program.”

Myers compiled a 32-26 record in NCAA tournament play, which ranks sixth all-time in tournament wins and fourth in tournament games coached. The Cavaliers advanced to championship weekend in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2014.

“Julie Myers has established an amazing legacy at the university and her name is synonymous with UVA women’s lacrosse,” said Virginia director of athletics Carla Williams. “Her contributions to the university and the sport, as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach are enormous. She has dedicated four decades of her life to educating, developing and mentoring young women on and off the field. Her impact on her players cannot be overstated as the women under her tutelage have gone on to ultra-successful careers and made an impact in their own communities. We are thankful she will remain in Charlottesville and close to the university to continue to support the program she helped build into a national standard.”

Before taking over as head coach, Myers served as an assistant on the Cavalier coaching staff from 1992-1994 under Jane Miller.

Myers earned a degree in sociology from Virginia in 1990 and competed as a graduate student in the championship year of 1991. While at UVA, the Bryn Mawr, Pa., native earned a total of seven letters and regional All-America status in both field hockey and lacrosse. Playing in her final season as a graduate student, Myers was the starting center on the 1991 National Championship team and earned second-team All-America honors.

Myers is the mother of three children, Kelsey, Timmy and Kevin. Kelsey was a senior on the Stanford women’s lacrosse team in 2023 while Timmy was a freshman for the Cavaliers’ men’s lacrosse team this past season.