14 NCAA Appearances
12 Conference Tournament Titles
19 Conference Regular-Season Titles
Conference Coach of the Year: 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020
NFHCA Regional Coach of the Year: 2005, 2007, 2017
A member of the NFHCA Hall of Fame Class of 2014, Sally Starr has put together an incredible 44-season tenure as head coach of the Boston University field hockey program. She is the longest-tenured head coach in the history of BU Athletics.
Starr established herself as one of the finest coaches in the nation long ago, leading the Terriers to 14 NCAA tournament appearances, including four in the past 10 years. In 2017, she was named the Dita/NFHCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year for the third time in her stellar career (2005, 2007).
Starr is 12th all-time in career wins among college field hockey coaches with 520 - a total that ranks second among current Division I head coaches. Her teams have posted winning records in 31 of the past 40 seasons and have been ranked among the top programs in the country since the mid-1980s.
She has posted an impressive 501-347-19 record in her tenure at Boston University, which includes 14 NCAA tournament appearances, three ECAC Tournament appearances, the 1987 ECAC Championship, 12 conference tournament championships, 19 conference regular-season titles and 22 appearances in conference title games.
Under Starr's guidance, the program has been remarkably stable over the past quarter-century. Since 1985, the Terriers have finished the season ranked in the final national poll 26 times, and have finished in the top 10 six times.
The Terriers won four consecutive Patriot League regular-season titles from 2015-18 and have claimed the league's tournament championship four times (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018).
In 2017, BU came from behind to top Bucknell, 2-1, in the Patriot League game to follow up a perfect 6-0 record in conference play. BU claimed its first PL title in 2014, topping top-seeded Bucknell on its own field after coming up short in the league championship game in 2013, their inaugural season in the conference. In 2015, the Terriers successfully defending their 2014 title on its home field with a victory over American in the championship game.
BU won eight America East conference titles under Starr before the athletic department changed its conference affiliation in 2013. The Terriers hoisted the league championship in four of its final eight seasons in the America East.
Starr and the Terriers earned back-to-back NCAA appearances for the first time in program history in 1999 and 2000 before repeating the feat in 2005 and 2006 and again in 2014 and 2015. In 2007, BU made it three straight league titles and enjoyed its winningest season ever. The Terriers posted an 18-6 record and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 1991. Pam Spuehler became the first BU athlete to ever be a finalist for the Honda Award, given to the top player in the country.
In 1985, Starr led BU to its best finish ever, a 17-4-2 record and a trip to the NCAA semifinals. The Terriers wrapped up that season ranked fourth in the country after nearly making it to the championship game - falling to eventual national champion Connecticut, 2-1.
The 1996 season ranks among the most successful in Starr's tenure. Boston University established a school record with 16 regular-season wins, received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, and finished the year ranked eighth in the nation.
The Terriers have been a frequent participant in national and regional tournaments. In 1987, Starr directed the club to the ECAC Tournament title. In 1989, the Terriers made their second appearance in the NCAA tournament, and in 1991, the Terriers advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
Including the two years she spent as head coach of Bucknell, Starr has totaled a 520-361-21 coaching record. Her 400th career victory came on Oct. 27, 2012, with a 6-2 win against Fairfield. She reached the 300-win mark on Nov. 5, 2004, with a 3-0 home victory over New Hampshire in the America East semifinals and earned her 250th with a 5-1 victory against Vermont in 2000.
Starr began her coaching career at the University of New Hampshire in 1978. While earning her master's degree, she served as the head coach of the Wildcat junior varsity field hockey team and as an assistant coach with the women's lacrosse team. The following year, she began a two-year stint as head coach at Bucknell.
During her 42 years at the Division I level (BU gained Division I status in 1983), Starr has coached 43 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Americans, including nine first-team selections, and 90 of her players have earned a combined 152 All-Region selections. Twenty-one of her players have received conference Player of the Year honors, and 11 were conference Rookies of the Year. Terrier players have earned first- or second-team all-conference honors a total of 162 times. Under Starr's guidance, 16 Terriers have been elected to the BU Athletic Hall of Fame.
In recognition of her efforts, Starr has been named the Patriot League Coach of the Year six times (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022) after being selected as the America East Coach of the Year six times as well (1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2007). In 1994, she received the William French Award from Boston University's Hall of Fame. This award is presented annually for excellence in the coaching profession.
A native of Camp Hill, Pa., Starr played scholastically at Shawnee High School in Medford Lakes, N.J., and was one of the school's inaugural Hall of Fame members in September 2007.
In 1978, Starr went on to graduate from Ursinus College, where she guided the field hockey team to three consecutive AIAW Division I championship matches. She also earned varsity letters in basketball and lacrosse and was inducted into the Ursinus Hall of Fame in 1994.
Following graduation, she was selected to the U.S. Field Hockey Team and participated in the 1978 and 1979 National Sports Festivals. She was also a member of the national lacrosse team in 1978.
An active member of the national field hockey community, Starr coaches at U.S. Development programs and camps, and is a member of the U.S. Field Hockey Association. In 1998, she served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team, which competed in the World Cup in the Netherlands.
In 2008, Starr was one of 18 coaches invited to the inaugural Level III accreditation course that was hosted by USFHA technical director Terry Walsh in Palm Springs, Calif., and was one of only five who received the accreditation.
Starr was officially inducted into the NFHCA Hall of Fame at the annual convention in January 2015.
