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John Haus is the man responsible for turning the Tar Heel lacrosse program around. The results were evident on the field in 2007 and the promise that carries into the 2008 campaign is further proof the eighth-year head coach has the Tar Heels headed in the right direction.
After consecutive losing seasons in 2005 and 2006, the Tar Heels rebounded last year to notch their second 10-win season and second quarterfinal appearance since 2004. With all 10 starters and 35 total letterman returning from that 10-6 team, 2008 looks to be potentially the most fruitful campaign of John Haus' eight seasons at the helm of his alma mater's men's lacrosse squad.
The Tar Heels enter the 2008 season as highly regarded as at any time during Haus' tenure. Both Faceoff Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse Magazine have Carolina ranked as the No. 5 team in the country in their preseason polls, while the United States Lacrosse Association preseason coaches' poll has the Heels checking in at No. 10. The No. 5 ranking is the highest ever for a Carolina team in Haus' eight-year tenure.
The successful 2007 campaign began with Haus' willingness to revamp several aspects of the program. First, Haus made staff changes, not just in personnel but also in responsibilities. Judd Lattimore joined the full-time staff and partnered with fellow assistant Greg Paradine in developing a more wide open and exciting Tar Heel offense. The Tar Heels also made great strides administratively and organizationally, as well, with practices becoming more structured and training sessions more efficient.
The on-field portion of the 2007 season began in earnest when Haus made the decision to take the Tar Heels overseas to compete in the 2006 International Lacrosse Friendship Games in Tokyo, Japan from June 15-23, 2006. Carolina bonded as a team and as a staff on the trip and finished the tournament with a 6-1-1 record, losing only to the Japanese National Team by a single goal.
The Heels kept the momentum going with wins in six of their first seven matches in 2007 including home victories over nationally-ranked teams from Denver and Notre Dame. With a depth chart dominated by underclassmen, Haus saw the need to play more games in familiar territory scheduling nine home games versus just five true road matches. The Tar Heels capitalized on the opportunity going 8-1 at home including the season's signature victory over eventual-national champion John's Hopkins at Kenan Stadium. The win was Haus' first over his former squad and Carolina's first win over the Blue Jays since 1994.
The 2007 season also produced the Heels' first postseason action since 2004. In their first round game the Heels defeated Navy by a score of 12-8 for their second tournament victory since 1993. It was Haus' second trip to the NCAA tournament with the Heels and second time reaching the quarterfinals.
The on-field success also allowed Haus and company to continue the outstanding recruiting push that has them primed for title run in 2008. Inside Lacrosse Magazine rated Carolina's 2007-08 freshman class as nation's seventh best. Coupled with the nation's No. 6 and No. 4 ranked classes from 2005 and 2006, respectively, the Tar Heels boast a roster with three classes rated in the top ten of their respective years.
With his ability to adapt and grow as a coach, John Haus continues to uphold his reputation as one of the sports best teachers and competitors. He enters the 2008 season as one of the Top 15 winningest active coaches in NCAA Division I in terms of career winning percentage for coaches who have won 100 games or more. Haus has a career record of 117-74, a winning percentage of .6126.
Haus gained a significant milestone win in his career on March 23, 2005 when the Tar Heels defeated what would become a 2005 NCAA quarterfinalist Cornell team 9-5 at Fetzer Field. The victory was the 100th of Haus' distinguished coaching career combining his wins at Washington College, Johns Hopkins and North Carolina.
Under the mentorship of Haus, the 2004 season at North Carolina was a clear indication of the direction the Tar Heels expect to go in for many seasons to come. There are many reasons for optimism that Carolina can return to that level again in 2008.
Haus led Carolina to its first NCAA Tournament bid in six years in 2004 and to an NCAA Tournament victory for the first time since the 1993 campaign. Overall, UNC's 10-5 record was its best mark since the 1996 season ended at 12-5.
Jed Prossner and Ronnie Staines were named first-team All-Americas, the first Tar Heels to be chosen to the top team on attack and defense, respectively, since 1991 and 1993. Altogether, UNC had six All-America selections in 2004, its most since 1993, and three All-Atlantic Coast Conference honorees, its most since 1996. Prossner was one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy given to the National Player-of-the-Year in the sport.
Prossner's talents were so well respected that he was named a first-team All-America on attack again in 2005 despite the fact UNC finished three games under .500. Prossner became only the third attackman in UNC lacrosse history to be named first-team All-America multiple years in succession. Prossner ended his career as UNC's second-leading goal scorer while two other members of the Class of 2005 also reached milestones--attackman Mike McCall as the school's sixth leading goal scorer and Paul Spellman as the University's career leader in goalkeeper saves.
After serving for two years as the head coach at Johns Hopkins University and previous to that for four years as the head coach at Washington College on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Haus returned to his alma mater at the University of North Carolina to become the Tar Heels' 11th head men's lacrosse coach on June 1, 2000. It was an emotional decision for Haus but one he does not regret as he continues to seek Carolina's return to lacrosse national prominence.
Haus' first four seasons as the Tar Heels' head mentor showed steady progress in the rebuilding phase of the program as the Tar Heels finished 6-6 in 2001, 8-5 in 2002, 7-6 in 2003 and 10-5 in 2004 against extremely difficult schedules. But with successful recruiting, an improved attitude within the team and a tremendous work ethic up and down the roster, the Tar Heels broke through in 2004 to be an NCAA Tournament team for the first time since 1998. Carolina also posted its most wins in a season since 1996. The Heels also won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993. Haus gives much of the credit for the success of that team to a nine-member senior class, the first group of freshmen he worked with when he took over the head coaching job in the summer of 2000.
When he was hired in 2000, Haus became only the third individual to take the head lacrosse coaching reins at Carolina since 1978. The Ruxton, Md., native was recruited out of Loyola Blakefield High School in Towson, Md., to play at UNC by U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame head coach Willie Scroggs, who piloted the Carolina program from 1978-90. In 2000, Haus returned to the place where he had so many positive experiences during his playing career.
A standout defenseman at Carolina, Haus helped the Tar Heels capture the 1981 and 1982 NCAA championships, the first two national titles in the history of the program. A four-year starter, he was a key individual on a defense which helped lead the team to a 12-0 record in 1981 and a 14-0 mark in 1982. In 1982, he earned first-team All-America honors from the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association and he received the Turnbull Trophy as the UNC team MVP.
A two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer, Haus garnered second-team All-America honors as a senior. As a freshman, he earned the Jay Gallagher Award as Carolina's top newcomer during the 1980 season. During his collegiate playing career, he helped the Tar Heels to four NCAA Tournament appearances, two NCAA championships, two ACC titles and an overall record of 43-8 (.843). At the conclusion of his playing career, he was selected to play in the annual USILA North-South All-Star game.
Haus attended high school at the Loyola-Blakefield School in Towson, Md., and served as an assistant football and lacrosse coach there from 1984 through 1987 after graduating from UNC. From 1987-94, Haus served as the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins, helping lead the Blue Jays to the 1989 NCAA title game.
During his tenure as an assistant coach for the Blue Jays, Hopkins posted a 62-27 record, appeared in the 1989 title game and made two other appearances in the NCAA semifinals. Under his guidance, nine Blue Jay defensemen and goalkeepers earned All-America honors.
An innovative defensive coach with a proven track record of success, Haus left Johns Hopkins in 1994 after seven years as an assistant coach to move to the Eastern Shore of Maryland where he took over as the head coach at Washington College. Haus guided Washington College to its first-ever NCAA men's lacrosse championship in 1998 with a 16-10 title-game victory over two-time defending champion Nazareth. The Shoremen were making their third straight trip to the NCAA Division III title game under Haus. Washington had lost both the 1996 and 1997 national titles games in overtime.
In four years at Washington College, Haus guided the Shoremen to a 47-21 (.691) record, three trips to the NCAA Division III championship game and a pair of Centennial Conference championships. The 1996 recipient of the Morris Touchstone Memorial Award as the NCAA Division III Coach-of-the-Year, Haus mentored 18 All-America selections at Washington College, including five first-team honorees.
Haus then became the 21st coach in the history of the Johns Hopkins lacrosse program and was the clear-cut choice to fill the position when it came open during the summer of 1998 after the departure of long-time Blue Jay head coach Tony Seaman. In 1999, Haus and the Blue Jays posted an 11-3 record, were ranked No. 1 in the nation early in the season, won nine straight games at one point and advanced to the NCAA semifinals before falling to eventual champion Virginia.
In 2000, the Blue Jays recovered from a 1-3 start to win eight games in a row and advance to the NCAA semifinals where for the second straight year Hopkins lost to the eventual national champion, this time Syracuse. The Blue Jays finished 9-4 overall with a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament as they won eight of their last nine games.
Haus has led Washington College, Johns Hopkins and North Carolina to the NCAA Tournament seven times, winning one national title and being eliminated by the eventual NCAA champion four of the other six times.
In all, Haus has been involved with college lacrosse as a player or coach for 24 years of his adult life. Teams he has played for or coached either as a head coach or assistant coach have posted a cumulative record of 222-109, won three NCAA Championships, played in six NCAA Championship games, advanced to the NCAA Semifinals 13 times and qualified for the NCAA Tournament 18 times. As a collegiate head coach at Washington College, Johns Hopkins and North Carolina Haus has an 117-74 mark in 12 seasons.
Haus and his wife, the former Lisa Ariosa, were elated at the prospect of relocating their family to Chapel Hill when the chance came along in 2000. John and Lisa were high school sweethearts. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and then went on to earn a master's degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore. She is a licensed clinical social worker.
The Hauses are the proud parents of four sons--John age 17, Will age 15, Luke age 12, and Grant, age 7.
Haus is the son of Bert and Anne Haus of Ruxton, Md. Bert was an All-America lacrosse player at the University of Virginia in the 1950s and he is now retired after a long career in the real estate business in the Baltimore area.
John Haus is the second of the seven children of Bert and Anne Haus. Sister Kim is the oldest of the siblings, followed by John, brothers Michael, Tom and Kevin, sister Kathy and brother Tim. Both Tom and Kevin also played lacrosse at Carolina and both were All-America defensemen here. Tom, the national player of the year in 1986 and a three-time national defenseman of the year, is a 1987 graduate. He lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. where he works as a certified public accountant. Kevin was an All-America defensive midfielder for Carolina who graduated in 1988. He now lives in Baltimore and, like his father, Bert, works in the real estate industry.
John Haus
• Full Name: John Gilbert Haus, III
• Born October 4, 1961 in Baltimore, Md.
• Married to Lisa Ann Ariosa Haus on November 20, 1987 in Towson, Md.
• Children: John Gilbert Haus, IV, born September 21, 1990 in Baltimore, Md.; William Eugene Haus, born November 15, 1992 in Baltimore, Md.; Luke Ariosa Haus, born July 7, 1995 in Chestertown, Md.; Grant Schofield Haus, born April 19, 2000 in Baltimore, Md.
