Cortland State Head Coach Leland Rogers has resigned his position in order to take a non- coaching position with the Syracuse University athletic department. Asst. Coach Rich Barnes will take over as interim head coach until a nationwide search later in the spring.

Rogers will take on the newly announced position of Director of Lacrosse Operations at Syracuse, a non coaching position that will deal primarily with the day to day logisitical and planning operations usually performed by a head coach.

Barnes, a 1989 All American at Cortland, rejoined the coaching staff before last season as the team's defensive coordinator.

Update- 12/15/05

From www.SUathletics.com

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse University has hired Lelan Rogers to the newly-created position of Director of Men’s Lacrosse Operations, announced today by Orange head coach John Desko. A 1987 graduate of Syracuse University, Rogers returns to his alma mater following a five-year stint as head men’s lacrosse coach at SUNY-Cortland. He will be responsible for managing administrative duties that involve compliance, development, camps, scheduling and academic affairs.

"We’re very excited to have Lelan back at SU and in the lacrosse office," Desko said. "He is going to be a tremendous help to us. His new position helps free up the coaching staff to focus on game preparation, scouting and recruiting."

"It’s a great opportunity for me to get back to Syracuse," Rogers said. "I think everyone has that one place that they consider the pinnacle. For me, Syracuse is the pinnacle of men’s lacrosse. Getting a chance to work with such a talented coaching staff and outstanding athletics administration is going to help me in terms of my overall career development."

Rogers compiled an impressive record of 76-17 (.817) during his five seasons as head coach at Cortland. He guided the Red Dragons to five NCAA Division III Tournament appearances and four State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) titles. Last season, Rogers led his team to a 17-2 record, tying the school single-season victory record. Cortland won the SUNYAC title and tied for fifth nationally after advancing to the national quarterfinals. In 2004, Cortland was 15-3, won the SUNYAC regular-season title, and tied for fifth nationally.

In 2003, Rogers was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year after Cortland finished 17-3 to set the school single-season win mark. The Red Dragons won two NCAA playoff games and missed qualifying for the national championship game by one goal after losing in double overtime in the national semifinals to three-time defending champion Middlebury.

In 2002, Cortland finished 16-3, at the time a school record for wins. The Red Dragons claimed both the SUNYAC regular-season and tournament titles and defeated Clarkson 9-1 in the NCAA opening round, tying a tournament record for fewest goals allowed. Cortland lost by one goal in the national quarterfinals. The Red Dragons finished first in the nation in scoring defense (5.6 goals allowed per game) and second in scoring margin (+8.5 goals per game).

Rogers’ Cortland squad finished with an 11-6 record, won the SUNYAC regular-season title, and earned an NCAA berth his first year on the job in 2001.

Rogers previously coached at Ohio Wesleyan University where he led the men’s lacrosse team to seven NCAA Division III playoff appearances in the 1990s. He enjoyed a 109-33 record at Ohio Wesleyan from 1991-99. He guided the Battling Bishops to the NCAA Division III championship game in 1993 and five other national semifinals. His teams also won six North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) titles and had an overall record of 44-4 in league play. He was named NCAC Coach of the Year four times.

Overall, Rogers coached 70 All-Americans, including 23 at Cortland. Among those honorees was Cortland’s Justin Mendelson, who was named the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III Defenseman of the Year in 2002, along with 1998 USILA Division III Player of the Year Darren McGurn of Ohio Wesleyan. In 1997 and 1998, Rogers coached the USILA Division III Attackman of the Year. He mentored USILA Division III goalies of the year in 1991 and 1993. Rogers also coached three-time Cortland All-America midfielder Andrew Roth, who was a 2004 draft pick of both the Philadelphia Barrage of Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League’s San Jose Stealth.

In addition to his lacrosse duties, Rogers was an assistant facility director and physical education teacher at Ohio Wesleyan. He served as an assistant football coach from 1990-94. He was the owner and director of the Ohio Wesleyan Midwest All-Star Lacrosse Camp for nine years and the Ohio Wesleyan Best of the West 150 Lacrosse Camp for four years.

A native of Fulton, N.Y., Rogers is a 1982 alumnus of G. Ray Bodley High School. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications and earned a master’s degree in higher education administration/athletic administration from the University in 1990. He was a member of Syracuse’s NCAA Division I semifinal team in 1987 and was a graduate assistant coach for the Orange’s three-straight national championship squads from 1988-90.

A team captain for the Syracuse wrestling program, Rogers was an NCAA qualifier and New York State Collegiate champion. He was also a two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) finalist.

Before enrolling at Syracuse, Rogers attended St. Lawrence University where he played lacrosse and football and served as captain of the wrestling team. He was a Division III national wrestling champion at 190 pounds in 1985 and a national runnerup at 177 pounds in 1983.

Rogers and his wife, Terri, have a daughter, Paige, and a son, Casey.

Last season, the Syracuse University men's lacrosse team posted a 7-6 record and lost a 16-15 decision to Massachusetts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.