Salisbury University

The all-time winningest coach in NCAA men’s lacrosse history, Jim Berkman completed his 38th season at the helm of the 13-time national champion Salisbury University men's lacrosse team in 2026. Berkman has been the head of Salisbury men’s lacrosse since 1989.

Honors/Accomplishments as Head Coach

• 13 National Championships (1994-95, 1999, 2003-05, 2007-08, 2011-12, 2016-17, 2023)
• 661 wins as head coach – most in NCAA history
• National Lacrosse Hall of Fame – Class of 2013
• Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Hall of Fame - Class of 2023
• 37 straight NCAA Tournament appearances (1989-present)
• 28 NCAA Final Four appearances
• Eight undefeated seasons (1994-95, 2004-05, 2007-08, 2012, 2020)
• 16 undefeated regular seasons
• Four-time Division III National Coach of the Year (1991, 2008, 2012, 2023)
• 26 Conference Championships
  • 15 consecutive championships from 1995-2009
• 302 All-Americans
• 71 National Players/Positional Players of the Year
• 30 Conference Players of the Year
• 14 Conference Coach of the Year awards
• Longest winning streak in NCAA history - 69 games
• Second-longest winning streak in NCAA history – 55 games
• 105-game conference win streak
• 2012 Howdy Myers Man of the Year
• 15 Professional Lacrosse Draft Picks 

Notable Games as Head Coach

• May 29, 1994 – Salisbury beats Hobart, 15-9 in College Park for the program’s first NCAA Championship and caps off an undefeated season.
• May 28, 1995 – Salisbury takes down Nazareth, 22-13 to repeat as national champions, the first of eight repeat championships for the Sea Gulls.
• May 29, 2005 – Salisbury beats Middlebury, 11-10 to win their third consecutive national championship. The 2005 team is only the third team in NCAA Division III to three-peat as national champions.
• May 16, 2012 – Berkman collects his 400th SU win in 14-4 NCAA semifinal win against Cabrini
• May 17, 2017 – Berkman becomes the only coach in NCAA history with 500 wins with a 17-5 win over Cabrini in the NCAA quarterfinals.
• May 28, 2017 – Salisbury wins the 12th national championship in program history with a 15-7 win over RIT in front of the largest crowd for a Division III championship in NCAA history (31,560).
• Feb. 18, 2023 - Berkman becomes the first coach in NCAA history with 600 wins with a 25-10 win over Scranton
• April 15, 2023 - Berkman wins 600th at SU with 23-9 victory over Washington (Md.) in "War on the Shore"
• May 28, 2023 - Salisbury wins its 13th national championship to tie Hobart for the most Division III Championships with a 17-12 win over Tufts.

Coaching Career Prior to Salisbury
After graduating from St. Lawrence in 1982, Berkman spent two years at SU while he earned his master's degree. He served as the Gulls' assistant lacrosse coach during that time as SU compiled a 23-7 record. Following one season at SUNY Potsdam (1985), where Berkman coached the team to a school-record nine wins, he returned to St. Lawrence from 1985-88. As head basketball coach, Berkman directed his 1987-88 Saints to the ICAC league championship. Berkman also guided the SU women's soccer program for seven seasons (1994-2000) and posted an overall 102-28-5 (.774) record and two CAC championships.

Playing Career
An All-American midfielder at St. Lawrence University in 1982, the Watertown, N.Y., native starred on the basketball team as well as the lacrosse squad at St. Lawrence, earning MVP honors in basketball as both a junior and senior. He also was selected to play in the prestigious North-South All-Star lacrosse game in 1982. Berkman was inducted into the St. Lawrence Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.

Personal Life
Berkman currently resides in Salisbury, Md., with his wife Jennifer. Their son, Kylor, was a four-year member men's lacrosse team and their daughter Keli won a national championship with the Salisbury women's lacrosse team in 2010.

Coach Berkman News
12/08/23  Berkman tabbed as 2023 Division III USILA Coach of the Year
07/28/23  Berkman selected among Daily Record's Influential Marylanders
07/21/23  Berkman to be inducted into IMLCA Hall of Fame Class of 2023
04/15/23  Berkman wins 600th at SU as No. 2 Men's Lacrosse wins "War on the Shore" over Washington, 23-9
02/18/23  Berkman earns win No. 600 as No. 2 Men's Lacrosse downs Scranton, 25-10
07/26/17  Berkman to be inducted into North Country Sports Hall of Fame
05/17/17  Berkman gets 500th win at SU as Men's Lacrosse wins quarterfinal, 17-5
03/19/17  Berkman picks up 500th career win as attack erupts en route to 26-4 win over Wesley
06/06/16  Berkman named Maryland Coach of the Year
05/22/13  Berkman to be inducted into National Lacrosse Hall of Fame
12/07/12  Berkman named Coach of the Year, Howdy Myers Man of the Year
08/15/12  Berkman among five in vote for 2012 Best Men's Lacrosse Coach
05/16/12  Berkman claims 400th SU victory as Bradman leads Gulls past Cavaliers to NCAA semifinal
04/04/12  Coach Berkman makes history as Sea Gulls fly past Eagles
01/03/11  Berkman named FieldTurf's 2010 Men's Lacrosse Division III Coach of the Year
07/01/08  Coach Berkman named USILA Division III Coach of the Year
05/10/08  327! Coach Berkman takes his place in history
04/25/08  Berkmans become first father-son combo to be named CAC Coach and Player of the Year, 7 Gulls honored
02/16/08  Coach Berkman gets his 300th career win at SU in season opener
12/15/07  Berkman repeats as FieldTurf Tarkett Coach of the Year
07/26/07  Coach Berkman featured in SI's Faces in the Crowd
05/04/07  A record nine Sea Gulls named All-CAC first team, Caruso and Berkman honored again
03/07/07  Berkman named FieldTurf Tarkett Coach of the Year

Coach Berkman's Record at SU

Last updated: 5/27/25