Field Hockey
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- pankratz@umich.edu
Marcia Pankratz recently completed her 25th overall season as head coach of the University of Michigan field hockey program -- and 16th year in her second stint after returning to the reigns as head coach on Jan. 15, 2009, following a brief hiatus from coaching. Pankratz previously served as the Wolverines' head coach for nine seasons (1996-2004).
Among the winningest coaches in NCAA field hockey history, Pankratz guided the Wolverines to an NCAA title, 10 Big Ten regular-season and eight tournament titles over her tenure and solidified Michigan among the top programs in the country. Michigan field hockey became the first women's program in the history of Michigan athletics to capture an NCAA championship when it defeated Maryland, 2-0, to claim the 2001 title.
Michigan has enjoyed a particularly successful stretch over the last eight seasons (2017-24), with three Big Ten regular-season titles, four conference tournament crowns -- coinciding with the Big Ten's emergence as the dominant field hockey conference -- and a pair of trips to the NCAA Final Four, including a national runner-up finish in spring 2021.
In 2024, the Wolverines took advantage of a strong contingent of fifth-year veterans, Olympian Abby Tamer's return and an influx of new talent to register a 15-5 overall record, capture the Big Ten Tournament crown by defeating all three conference teams they had lost to during the regular season and return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year hiatus -- and for the ninth time in 10 years.
U-M excelled in a busy 2021 calendar year that featured two competitive seasons due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The spring 2021 Wolverines posted a 15-3 record, swept the Big Ten Conference regular-season and tournament titles and reached the NCAA championship game, where they dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker in overtime to two-time defending champion North Carolina. U-M again ranked among the national leaders with a sterling 0.61 goals-against average, 10 shutouts and just 7.9 shots and 3.8 penalty corners allowed per game. Three Wolverines were named NFHCA All-Americans, including first-team selection Halle O'Neill. That subsequent fall, U-M posted a 16-5 record, earned the No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history, reached the NCAA quarterfinals and matched a program-high four NFHCA All-Americans, including first-teamer Sofia Southam.
The Wolverines captured back-to-back Big Ten regular-season titles in 2017 and 2018. Michigan swept the Big Ten regular-season and tournament crowns in 2017 and recorded a program-record 21 wins, including 18 in a row, en route to the NCAA Final Four. U-M boasted the 2017 Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in Katie Trombetta and Sam Swenson, respectively, while Meg Dowthwaite joined the duo on the NFCA All-America teams. Pankratz was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and headed the NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Pankratz also led the Wolverines to back-to-back league crowns in 2010 and 2011. The team captured the conference regular-season title outright in 2011, earning Pankratz her second straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor and fifth overall conference award, and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. In 2010, Michigan earned a share of the Big Ten regular-season crown and claimed the Big Ten Tournament title. The 2010 Wolverines, featuring three NFHCA All-Americans, boasted an eight-game turnaround in the win column from 2009 and had six wins over top-20 opponents, including three top-10 victories.
Michigan's rise to prominence among intercollegiate field hockey's elite programs can be traced directly to Pankratz. After finishing sixth in the Big Ten during her first season as a head coach, she executed one of the greatest turnarounds in U-M sports history, leading the Wolverines to a 7-3 mark in the Big Ten to tie for the regular-season title in 1997. From 1997-2004, Michigan finished third or higher in the conference each season and snared five Big Ten regular-season crowns. U-M boasted undefeated (6-0) Big Ten records in both 2000 and 2002. U-M also advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game six times over an eight-year span, winning the playoff in 1999, 2000, 2004.
Pankratz posted a career record of 371-162 (.696), including a 132-55 mark (.706) in Big Ten play. Included in her total are the seven highest single-season win totals in school history, including a school-record 21 in 2017. She ranks second in Big Ten annals with six Coach of the Year awards, receiving the honor in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2010, 2011 and 2017. Pankratz was also awarded NFHCA West Region Coach of the Year honors in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2015 and 2017.
The Wolverines boasted an All-American on their roster in 23 of Pankratz's 25 seasons, including a program-high four in 2000, 2002 and 2021. During her tenure, Michigan had 32 different players combine for 48 total All-America citations, including 18 first-team nods. U-M also claimed 20Â Big Ten Player of the Year awards -- offensive, defensive and athlete -- and Wolverine players swept the yearly honors in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2024, Abby Tamer became Michigan field hockey's first-ever Olympian and led Team USA in scoring at the Paris Games.
Pankratz took the helm of the Wolverine program in August 1996 following her stint with the U.S. National Team at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. She scored three of the team's eight goals during the 1996 Olympics, building on her play at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Pankratz spent nine years with U.S. Field Hockey team (1985-90, 1994-96), playing in 110 international matches, highlighted by competition in seven high-profile tournaments -- the Champion's Trophy team (1995), the Pan-American team (1995, '87), the World Cup team (1986, '94) and the U.S. Olympic team (1988, '96). Pankratz has participated in three Olympic Festivals (1985, '87 and '89), and helped the U.S. to a pair of silver medals in the 1985 and 1987 Pan American Games, as well as the bronze medal at the 1994 World Cup. As a result of her accomplishments on the international scene, Pankratz was inducted into the United States Field Hockey Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
A collegiate standout at the University of Iowa (1982-85), Pankratz played forward for the Hawkeyes and finished her career with 76 goals to list third among all-time Iowa goal scorers. Twice honored as Iowa's Female Athlete of the Year and as a Honda Broderick Sports Award field hockey finalist (1985, '86), Pankratz was also the recipient of Iowa's 1986 Big Ten Medal of Honor as the university's top academic and athletic graduating senior. In addition, Pankratz was named to the 1984 NCAA All-Tournament team when she helped the Hawkeyes advance to the championship game against Old Dominion.
Within the Big Ten Conference, Pankratz left a legacy of accomplishments and individual awards. An All-American and All-Big Ten first team selection in both 1984 and 1985, Pankratz was the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year in 1984 after leading the league in scoring. The conference also tabbed her as the field hockey Big Ten Athlete of the 1982-92 Decade.
