Sharon Taylor Director of Athletics, Retired, Lock Haven University
Taylor was responsible for coordinating and directing LHU’s 18 intercollegiate sports. The majority of Bald Eagle and Lady Eagle teams competed at the NCAA Division II level, with the exception of the field hockey and wrestling programs, which competed at the Division I level.
The former women’s field hockey coach at LHU, Taylor earned an impressive 333-96-27 record at the helm of the Lady Eagles from 1973-95, making her the winningest coach in Lock Haven University history. Only the second field hockey coach in LHU’s first 50 years of the sport, Taylor guided The Haven to six national championships (one AIAW and five NCAA), seven Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles and seven additional national championship or semi-final appearances. In 1995, in her final season as head coach, Taylor led the Lady Eagles to a perfect 21-0 record and her final PSAC and NCAA Division II crowns. In addition, her 1979 lacrosse team won the first Division II National Championship sponsored by the United States Women’s Lacrosse Association (USWLA).
Organizationally, Taylor was President of the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA), the national governing body for the sport in Olympic and Pan American competition, from 2001 through 2006 when a structural reorganization eliminated the position of president. From 1987 through 2000 she represented USA Field Hockey on the board of directors of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). Taylor also served as President of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA), the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the Eastern Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW), and as Vice President for Division III of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). Additional administrative experiences include terms as President and Vice President of the College Field Hockey Coaches Association, a member of the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse and Field Hockey Committees, a U.S. Delegate to the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) and the Federation Internationale de Hockey (FIH), and as a consultant to the President’s Commission on Olympic Sport. Due to positions held, she served on numerous committees in the NCAA and the U.S. Olympic Committee.