University of North Carolina Athletics
Haus Returns to the Hill
June 1, 2000 | Men's Lacrosse
June 1, 2000
Haus' Year-By-Year Record
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - John Haus, for the last two years the head coach at the nation's most tradition-laden collegiate men's lacrosse program at Johns Hopkins University, has accepted an offer to become the new head men's lacrosse coach at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, it was announced Thursday. Haus, who graduated from UNC in 1983 after a vaunted career as a defender at the University, takes over for Dave Klarmann, who is resigning from the position effective June 30, 2000 after 10 years as UNC head coach.
"First off, I wanted to thank all the people at Johns Hopkins for the opportunities they gave me, both as a head coach there and as an assistant coach earlier in my career," Haus says. "I was always treated in a first class fashion there and I have nothing but respect and gratitude for the people at Hopkins.
"However, I was offered an opportunity to take over a program at the school where I played college lacrosse and where two of my brothers also played. Obviously I have many ties to the University in Chapel Hill as does everyone in my family. I am thrilled to get the opportunity to coach at a place that means as much as UNC does to me."
Haus becomes only the third individual to coach lacrosse at Carolina since 1978. The Ruxton, Md. native was recruited to play at UNC by legendary coach Willie Scroggs who piloted the Carolina program from 1978-90 before Klarmann took over. Now Haus has a chance to return to the place where he had so many positive experiences during his playing career.
"We are very pleased to have John Haus as the head coach of our lacrosse program," says UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour. "He is one of the most respected individuals in the lacrosse world. It is his love of and devotion to Carolina that has created this opportunity for us and for him."
A standout defenseman at Carolina, Haus helped the Tar Heels capture the 1981 and 1982 NCAA Championships, the first two in the history of the program. A four-year starter on close defense, he was a key element of a defense which helped lead the team to a 12-0 record in 1981 and a 14-0 record in 1982. In 1982, he earned first team All-America honors and 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 appearances, two NCAA Championships and an overall record of 43-8 (.843). The Tar Heels' 26-game winning streak from the start of the 1981 season through the 1982 title game is the fourth-longest in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse history. At the conclusion of his playing career, he was selected to play in the annual North-South All-Star game.
Haus prepped at the Loyola-Blakefield School in Towson, Md. and served as an assistant football and lacrosse coach there from 1984 through 1987. From 1988-94, Haus served as the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins, helping the Blue Jays to the 1989 NCAA title game.
During his tenure as an assistant coach at the Homewood campus, 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 goalies earned All-America honors, including defensemen Dave Pietramala and Brian Voelker and goalie Quint Kessenich, who all earned first team honors.
In addition, Pietramala was named the Lt. Raymond Enners Memorial Award winner as the top player in the nation in 1989 and the William C. Schmeisser Memorial Award winner in 1988 and 1989 as the nation's top defensemen. Kessenich won the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award as the top goalie in the nation in Division I in 1988 and 1989.
An innovative defensive coach with a proven track record of success, Haus left Hopkins in 1994 after seven years as an assistant 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 Championship in 1998 with a 16-10 title-game victory over Nazareth at Rutgers University. The Shoremen were making their third straight trip to the NCAA III title game under Haus. Washington had lost both the 1996 and 1997 national titles games in overtime to Nazareth.
In four years at Washington, Haus guided the Shoremen to a 47-21(.691) record, the three trips to the NCAA III championship game, and a pair of Centennial Conference Championships. The 1996 recipient of the Morris Touchstone Memorial Award as the NCAA III Coach-of-the-Year, Haus coached 18 All-Americans at Washington College, including five first team honorees. In addition, under his guidance, Andy Taibl won the 1997 Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award as the top goalie in the nation in Division III.
Haus then became the 21st coach in the history of the Hopkins lacrosse program and was the clear-cut choice to fill the position when it became open during the summer of 1998. In 1999, Haus and the Blue Jays posted an 11-3 record, were ranked number one in the nation early in the season, won nine straight games at one point, and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. A national-best eight Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse players were also selected as All-Americans. This past season the Blue Jays recovered from a 1-3 start to win eight games in a row and advance to the NCAA semifinals before falling to eventual NCAA champion Syracuse 14-12. The Jays finished 9-4 overall with a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In all, Haus has been involved with college lacrosse for 17 years. Teams he has played for or coached (head coach or assistant) have posted a cumulative record of 172-63 (.732), won three NCAA Championships, played in six NCAA Championship games, advanced to the NCAA Semifinals 13 times, and qualified for the NCAA's 16 times.
Haus currently lives in Reisterstown, Md. with his wife, the former Lisa Ariosa. The two were high school sweethearts. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland at College Park 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 nine, Will age seven, Luke age four and Grant, six weeks old.
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 real estate. John is the second of seven children. 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 defenders here. Tom, the national player of the year in 1986 and three-time national defenseman of the year, is a 1987 graduate. He lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. and is 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 works in real estate.
