Pankratz Announces Retirement After 25 Seasons Leading U-M Field Hockey
4/17/2025 10:30:00 AM | Field Hockey
• Visual Story: A Look Back at Marcia Pankratz's Coaching Journey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Head coach Marcia Pankratz announced on Thursday (April 17) that she is retiring after 25 seasons at the helm of the University of Michigan field hockey program.
Among the winningest coaches in NCAA field hockey history, Pankratz guided the Wolverines to an NCAA championship, 10 Big Ten regular-season titles 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.
"I'm incredibly grateful to the University of Michigan for taking a chance on me as a young coach so many years ago," said Pankratz. "It has been a tremendous honor and a joy of a lifetime. I want to thank Peg Bradley-Doppes for hiring me and thank you to Bill Martin, Dave Brandon and, of course, Warde Manuel for their unwavering support of me and our field hockey program. To the local field hockey community and, most importantly, Jane Nixon and Nancy Cox, you all have been my rock for so many years.
"The Michigan field hockey program is strong and poised for excellence moving forward with an experienced Michigan coaching staff. Coming off another Big Ten championship and a dedicated fan base with tremendous support, the program will continue to be The Leaders and Best.
"It has been an amazing journey filled with wonderful memories and meaningful relationships that I will always cherish. Being a part of the Michigan field hockey family has been a lifelong passion, and I am profoundly grateful to have shared this experience with so many student-athletes, parents and fellow coaches over my career here. I look forward to cheering on our amazing team and forever, Go Blue!"
"Marcia is one of the most respected coaches in this country and a legend in the field hockey community," said Manuel, "and I am thankful for her passion for and tireless dedication to Michigan and our students. As former office neighbors in Weidenbach Hall, Marcia and I began our careers together as a young coach and administrator, and I have long appreciated her work ethic, perspective, humor and honesty. She has made an indelible mark over her time at Michigan, from her leadership in securing our university's first-ever women's national championship to the impact she has had on her field hockey student-athletes from all parts of the world over the last 30 years. We will miss seeing her on the sidelines, but I look forward to working with her in her new role as special advisor to the athletic director and know that she will continue to impact lives beyond the game of field hockey."
Pankratz's service to Michigan field hockey came in two stints. She served as head coach for nine seasons from 1996-2004 and returned in 2009 for an additional 16 seasons.
The Wolverines' 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 Michigan 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 captured five Big Ten regular-season crowns. U-M also advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game six times over an eight-year span, winning the tournament in 1999, 2000 and 2004.
Michigan claimed back-to-back Big Ten titles in 2010 and 2011 -- a year after Pankratz's return to Ann Arbor -- and more recently, the Wolverines have 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 the spring of 2021.
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 (1997, 2000, '02, '10, '11, '17). Pankratz was awarded National Field Hockey Coaches Association West Region Coach of the Year honors five times (1999, 2000, '03, '15. '17).
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 20 Big Ten Player of the Year awards -- athlete, offensive and defensive -- 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 and played in 110 international matches with U.S. Field Hockey (1985-90, '94-96). She was inducted into the United States Field Hockey Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
She was a collegiate standout at the University of Iowa (1982-85), earning two first team All-America honors and the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards after leading the league in scoring in 1984. She still ranks among Iowa's all-time leaders with 76 goals and was twice honored as the school's Female Athlete of the Year and its 1986 Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient. The Big Ten also tabbed Pankratz as the field hockey Big Ten Athlete of the 1982-92 Decade.
