Joe Amplo

Joe Amplo was named the first head coach in Marquette men's lacrosse history on Feb. 4, 2011.

Amplo comes to Marquette with 11 years of collegiate coaching experience, 10 of which have come at his alma mater and current employer, Hofstra University. He is currently in his third year as associate head coach with the Pride, where he serves as the team's defensive coordinator.

During his time at Hofstra, Amplo has participated in 10 NCAA Championships, three as a student-athlete and seven as a coach, the most recent of which came in 2010.

“Joe's story of non-recruited walk-on to all-conference performer will serve as an inspiration to future Marquette men's lacrosse student-athletes,” said Mike Broeker, Deputy Athletic Director and sport administrator for men's lacrosse. “While better understanding his ideals and values, it became quite evident Joe was the ideal person to build our program. Those who know him best talked of an excellent lacrosse coach and skill developer, but more importantly characterized him as family man of great integrity; a selfless teammate who displayed tremendous work ethic and perseverance; and an educator committed to being more than just a coach to the young men in his program. We are so pleased to welcome Joe and his family to Marquette.”

Amplo joined the Hofstra coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 1999 and remained with the University until 2001 when he took an assistant coaching position at the University of Pennsylvania. After one year at Penn, Amplo returned to Long Island where he would remain to this day, currently under head coach Seth Tierney.

“I am extremely grateful to be chosen as the first head men's lacrosse coach at Marquette University,” Amplo said. “I have dreamed about the opportunity to lead a Division I lacrosse program and after better understanding, and seeing first-hand, Marquette's commitment to lacrosse, I realized quickly this was the perfect opportunity to pursue. I am blessed to have been mentored by some incredible people throughout my career, individuals who taught me to work hard, believe in myself, be accountable and always do the right thing. This decision was easy once I realized members of the Marquette community embody those same ideals.It truly is the perfect fit for me and my family.”

In his first stint with Hofstra, Amplo worked under then-head coach John Danowski, now the coach of 2010 NCAA Champion Duke University.

Since his return to Hofstra in 2003, the Pride has posted a 76-49 record and advanced to five NCAA Championships. He has coached 53 all-conference players at Hofstra, including five conference players of the year, four rookies of the year and 21 all-Americans. One of those players, Doug Shannahan, earned the Tewaaraton Award in 2001, honoring the top player in college lacrosse. Amplo has also coached another Tewaaraton Award finalist in Chris Unterstein, 13 North-South All-Stars and six USILA Scholar All-Americans.

As a student-athlete, he was an All-America East performer as a senior in 1999 when he started all 16 games and led the school to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship. He played in 58 games in his career and notched 91 ground balls, 40 of which came during his senior season.

In addition to his work with Hofstra, Amplo is active on the lecture circuit and is the founder and director of the Long Island Classic and Clinic, one of the largest youth and high school tournaments in the nation. He is also the director of the Blue and Gold Lacrosse Camps, which operates on the Hofstra campus.

The Farmingville, N.Y., native attended Sachem High School in Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y., where he earned four letters in both lacrosse and football and was an all-conference performer in both sports.

Amplo graduated from Hofstra in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in geography and earned a master's degree from the University in college student counseling. He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Babylon, N.Y., and have two daughters, Sophia (5) and Charlotte (2).