From there, he spent the next two months appealing to the NCAA and Yale to allow him to play — but he had two hurdles to clear. First, Ierlan wanted to continue to pursue his degree at Yale and graduate this spring. He enrolled in his final class this spring to allow him eligibility to play with the Bulldogs, and Yale granted his request to fulfill that final class credit while at Denver.
He will now enroll in the final trimester at Denver to finish out his career and will gain a Yale degree in the process.
“I’m not walking away from a Yale degree with one class left,” he said.
The second waiver that Ierlan filed was to allow him to compete at three different schools while still retaining his senior status as an undergrad.
With both waivers approved, Ierlan was allowed to compete in lacrosse this spring — capping his career as the best faceoff man in college lacrosse history. He owns the career and single-season records for faceoff wins and faceoff percentage.
The transfer will add another, albeit, shorter chapter to the Victor, N.Y., native’s career. He started his career at Albany under Scott Marr, spent two years under the leadership of Andy Shay at Yale and now has the chance to learn from a legend in Denver coach Bill Tierney.
“I get three of the best coaches in college lacrosse,” he said. “Coach Marr has shaped the Albany program. I got Coach Shay, who has built the Yale program and turned it into a powerhouse, and Coach Tierney, whose resume goes on for days.”
Ierlan said he’s just excited to leave the Northeast, the place where he grew up and spent most of his time. He’s still getting used to the Denver weather, though.
“It was nice to see the sun for the first time in months,” he joked. “It was sunny for a week, and then yesterday we had so much snow, we couldn’t drive anywhere. I thought I was going to escape the snow, but I brought it with me.”