UMBC Fires Men's Lacrosse Coach Ryan Moran

UMBC announced Thursday that it has terminated men's lacrosse coach Ryan Moran following the conclusion of its investigation into allegations raised by a student-athlete.

"Upon review of the facts and circumstances, I concluded that Coach Moran violated provisions of his contract related to protecting the health, safety and welfare of the student athletes in his charge," athletic director Tiffany D. Tucker said in the university's press release. "This decision was made in alignment with those standards and the vision and culture we are building for UMBC Athletics."

In February, school officials declined to provide a reason for placing Moran on leave in the fall. Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun reported that Moran was placed on leave since at least October due to a review triggered by a bullying and “sexual misconduct” allegation by one player against a teammate, according to a lawyer of the accuser.

Moran and his lawyers told Lee that he had met the requirements for reinstatement and that he was told he needed to complete Title IX training, but that university officials did not respond to inquiries about how to do so. Lee then reported Thursday that Tucker gave Moran the option of resigning or being fired for cause.

Moran has been the head coach at UMBC since the 2017 season, guiding the Retrievers to the NCAA tournament in 2019 after winning the America East championship. In 2021, he was named the America East Coach of the Year after leading UMBC to the league’s regular season championship. UMBC went 7-5 last season, and he has a career record of 56-53 in nine seasons at UMBC.

Moran was an All-ACC player at Maryland and served as an assistant coach at Navy, Maryland and Loyola before taking the UMBC position. In three years at Navy, the Mids reached the NCAA tournament all three seasons and won two Patriot League titles. He then coached at Maryland for six years, helping Maryland reach the NCAA title game twice. He coached at Loyola for two seasons, helping the Greyhounds to the national semifinals in 2016 before taking the UMBC job.

His father, Jack, retired last season after winning 629 games in his career as the legendary boys’ lacrosse coach at Chaminade (N.Y.), and his great uncle, Richie, who died in 2022, won three national championships as the head coach at Cornell and has the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame gallery named in his honor.