James Finlay begins his fifth season as Head Men's Lacrosse Coach at Trinity College.  Under his direction, the program has made significant improvements over the past four seasons.  

Finlay’s impact on the program was immediate, and after inheriting a team that finished 3-9 in 2005, he guided the team to a 6-7 finish in his first season in 2006.  His second season, 2007, proved to be even better as Finlay led the Bantams to an overall record of 9-6 and a third place finish in the NESCAC, including a thrilling 11-10 overtime victory against Middlebury, the first time in program history that Trinity had ever beat the Panthers.  The following season, 2008, provided another milestone, as Trinity went on the road to defeat the third ranked team in the nation, Middlebury, 6-5.  This set a new mark as the highest nationally ranked opponent ever defeated by a Trinity Men’s Lacrosse team. The Bantam men’s lacrosse squad posted its best record since 1992 at 10-6 last spring as Finlay guided Trinity to its third consecutive NESCAC tournament. He led Trinity to a national ranking as high as 19^th, and finished the season ranked 22^nd in the USILA polls. The 2009 squad also broke several school records including goals against, save percentage as well as the overall wins.

Finlay came to Trinity by way of Brown University, where he spent seven years as an assistant coach, serving as the Defensive Coordinator, and Recruiting Coordinator for the Bears.  Finlay helped the 2004 Brown defense rank No. 1 in the Ivy League and No. 7 in the nation.  Prior to Brown, Finlay worked as an assistant coach at Notre Dame University for two years, helping the Irish capture the 1999 Great Western Lacrosse League title and advance to the NCAA Tournament.  He also served as the top assistant and defensive coordinator at Springfield College for three seasons, compiling a 25-16 record. In 1995, Springfield posted a 13-1 mark and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Division II tournament.

Finlay earned his bachelor's degree in History and Classical Studies from Gettysburg College in 1992, where he was a three-year letter-winner in lacrosse on teams that posted a 33-9 overall mark and captured two Middle Atlantic Conference Championships. Considered one of the outstanding young defensive coaches and recruiters in the nation, Finlay went on to earn a master's degree in physical education from Springfield College in 1997.

Marc Graham enters his fifth season as an assistant coach for the Bantam men's lacrosse team.  He came to Trinity in the fall of 2006 as the first assistant coach hired by Coach Finlay.  Prior to Trinity, Graham spent 11 years coaching football, girl's basketball, and lacrosse at South Windsor High School.  He compiled a career record of 95-80 as the head men's lacrosse Coach at South Windsor, which included two Connecticut Division II State Finals appearances ('95, '96) and a Connecticut Division II State Championship (1999).

Graham lettered in both football and lacrosse at Dean Junior College prior to graduating from Springfield College in 1994.  He currently lives in Windsor,  where he attended high school and was a classmate and teammate of Coach Finlay in both football and lacrosse.

Jared Rife
Trinity College Assistant Men's Lacrosse Coach

Jared Rife begins his second season as an assistant coach for the Bantam men's lacrosse team.  Rife played lacrosse for national club powerhouse Brigham Young University, where he was a two-year, starting defensemen for the Cougars.  Rife helped lead BYU to the 2000 MCLA National Championship.  After completing a two-year mission in Nicaragua for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Rife returned to the Cougars for the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons, serving as captain in 2005.

Rife comes from a lacrosse-rich family, as his older brother Jason played lacrosse for the University of Massachusetts and currently is the head lacrosse coach at Division I Wagner College.

A 2006 graduate of BYU with degrees in American studies and Spanish, Rife is currently pursuing his master's degree in American studies at Trinity.  He resides in West Hartford with his wife, Rachel, and their two children, Jackson and Madison.