Mike Pressler

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Mike Pressler is the head coach of the Bryant University Bulldogs men's lacrosse team.

Pressler coached for the Duke Blue Devils for 16 seasons, compiling a 153-82 record at Duke, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship three times, and leading his team to 10 NCAA tournament appearances as well as the Division I men's national championship game in 2005. Pressler was voted ACC Coach of the Year three times and also was honored as the USILA National Coach of the Year in 2005.^[1]^[2] He was forced to resign in 2006 in the wake of allegations of rape against three athletes in the program that proved to be false.

Before his head coaching job at Duke in 1991, Pressler served as assistant coach at Army and later held the head coaching posts at VMI and Ohio Wesleyan, leading to his overall record of 229-102 in 22 seasons as a head coach. Pressler attended Washington & Lee University and was a four year starter on both the football and lacrosse teams.^[1]

In October of 2007, Mike Pressler was inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan University Hall of Fame. During his 5 year tenure at OWU from 1986 through 1990, Pressler amassed a 69-16 record, four NCAC conference championships, five visits to the final four NCAA National Championships, three NCAA Division III championship game appearances, 29 All-America selections, and five NCAA players of the year. His contributions to the OWU lacrosse program made him the winningest coach (.812) in the University's 50-year lacrosse history and represents 20% of OWU's 25 year participation in the NCAA playoffs.

According to KC Johnson, Pressler's firing was portrayed as a 'resignation' by Duke, which gave rise to the egregious implication that Pressler had 'resigned' because of the students' presumed guilt. He also has coauthored the book with Don Yaeger, It's Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case and the Lives It Shattered (ISBN 1416551468).

In early June 2007, he and Duke agreed upon a financial settlement for an undisclosed amount.^[3] Pressler announced in October 2007 that he is suing Duke, alleging the university broke the terms of the confidential settlement when university senior vice president John Burness allegedly made disparaging comments about him. The suit asks a state court to void the settlement and hold a trial on Pressler's claim of wrongful termination.^[4]