Bio

Jim Murphy, Bentley University's head men's lacrosse coach since 1993, also serves as the athletic department's Manager of Operations.

The 2024 season will be his 32nd as Bentley University's head men's lacrosse coach. The only men's lacrosse coach in school history, Murphy led the program to its first NCAA Tournament bid last season in 2023. 

In 31 years at the helm of the program, Murphy has amassed 227 career wins and he is a seven-time Northeast-10 Coach of the Year. He has led the Falcons to three NE10 Championships, four NE10 regular season titles and 20 NE10 playoff appearances.

Murphy guided the Falcons to another strong season in 2023. They reached the finals of the NE10 Championship and were selected to host an NCAA Tournament game. They ended the season ranked 10th in Division II by the USILA.

Those accomplishments saw Murphy named the NE10 Coach of the Year for the 7th time in his career. He was also voted the New England Coach of the Year for a 6th time.

Three of his players were named All-Americans by the USILA; Cam Bartolomeo (3rd Team), Luke Jaber (Honorable Mention) and Nathan Alviti (Honorable Mention). 

The Falcons also excel academically under Murphy's guidance. They earned the 2022-23 Team Academic Excellence Award from the NE10 for having the best combined GPA among men's lacrosse teams in the NE10. They also received the Team Academic Award from the USILA. 

In the latest Academic Success Rate report from the NCAA, released in December 2023, the men's lacrosse program had a perfect 100% graduation rate for the 12th straight year.

Murphy was last named the NE10 Coach of the Year in 2019 after leading the Falcons to a 9-5 record and a 7-4 mark in the highly competitive NE10 Conference. His team finished the season ranked in the USILA Division II national poll. Murphy was also named the New England Division II Coach of the Year for the 5th time in his career.

On April 6, 2019, he earned his 200th career win with a victory over Saint Michael's. At the time that made him just the 5th coach in Division II history to surpass the 200 career win milestone. 

In the summer of 2019, Murphy received another prestigious honor, when he was inducted into the Eastern Massachusetts Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Throughout his tenure at Bentley, Murphy has coached 12 USILA All-Americans, 27 first team All-Conference choices and two NE10 Players of the Year. He has also seen four of his players drafted by Major League Lacrosse teams, with the most recent being Max Adler by the Denver Outlaws in the 2017 draft. Adler has gone on to a highly successful pro career, having led the Outlaws to the 2018 MLL championship.   

He served as an assistant coach with the Boston Cannons in Major League Lacrosse for 15 years and helped the team win the 2011 MLL championship. Murphy also sits on the Board of Directors for the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association.

Murphy is a 1986 graduate of Plymouth State College and holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Education from Plymouth State. In 2001, Murphy was inducted to Billerica High School’s Hall of Fame, where he also played lacrosse and soccer.