Providence College Athletics

Diane Madl Inducted Into Pennsylvania State Athletic Hall Of Fame

6/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

June 12, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Providence College field hockey coach Diane Madl was inducted into the Pennsylvania State Hall of Fame on May 18. Madl was unable to receive her honor during the State Hall of Fame Ceremony in November (2007) because she was coaching the Friar field hockey team at the BIG EAST Championships in Syracuse, N.Y. On May 18, she accepted the prestigious State honor at the Luzerne County Hall of Fame ceremony at the Best Western Genetti Hotel and Conference Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Madl, a native of Mountaintop, Pa., was a three-sport stand-out in field hockey, basketball and softball at Crestwood High School. Upon completion of her high school career, she went on to play field hockey for the University of Connecticut from 1985-1988. While at UConn, she helped the Huskies capture the NCAA Division I Field Hockey National Championship in 1985. She also claimed All-America and Academic All-America honors during her four-year career. As a senior at UConn, Madl earned the prestigious Honda Broderick Award as the top collegiate field hockey player in the nation. She graduated from Connecticut magna cum laude, with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1989.

Madl's playing career continued as a member of the U.S. National Team. She competed in a multitude of international events with Team USA, including competition at the World University Games (1989), World Cup (1990), Inter-Continental Cup (1989 and 1995) and the Champions Trophy (1995). Madl achieved her ultimate goal of becoming an Olympian in 1996 as part of the U.S. National Team during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga.

Madl's coaching career began at the University of Maine as an assistant coach in 1993. She remained with the Black Bear program until 2001, until she was named Head Coach of the Providence Field Hockey program in 2002. Since her arrival at Providence, she has transformed the field hockey program into a contender in the BIG EAST Conference and put the Friars back on the map on a national level. Madl has guided the Friars to an overall record of 64-58 in six seasons with the program, including a 32-12 record during each of the last two seasons (2006-2007). During that two-year time frame, the Friars captured the BIG EAST Regular-Season title in 2006 and advanced to the BIG EAST Championship game twice. Madl's 2006 team enjoyed one of the program's most successful seasons of all-time, finishing the year with an 18-4 overall record. Following that success, Madl was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year, and Dita/NFHCA Division I Northeast Region Coach of the Year. She also had the privilege of developing two of the program's eight All-Americans all-time in Lauren Sickel `07 and Rachel Chamberlain `10. In the Friars' most recent run during the 2007 season, the team completed the year with a 14-8 overall record and finished the season ranked in the NFHCA Division I National Coaches' Poll for the second-straight year. In addition to mentoring two All-America selections at Providence, the Friars also have earned 18 All-BIG EAST selections and 18 NFHCA All-Region selections under Madl's guidance.

Even with the demands of the collegiate field hockey schedule, Madl still finds time to give back to U.S. Field Hockey. She remains involved with the Futures Program, having coached the U-19 team in the USA/Canadian Challenge Cup (2005) and assisted with the U-16 team that participated in the U.S. Olympic Development Select/Futures Elite International Easter Tournament in the Netherlands. Madl also has served as an Assistant Head Coach for the USA Field Hockey High Performance Women's National Championship New England Team (2007 and 2008).

Madl will embark on her seventh season as the head field hockey coach at Providence in 2008. She was inducted into the Luzerne County Hall of Fame in 2005. She is the daughter of Ruth Ann and David Madl.

- FRIARS -

Players Mentioned

Goalkeeper
/ Field Hockey
Providence vs. Sacred Heart
Sunday, October 12
Providence vs. Quinnipiac
Friday, October 10
Providence vs. Hofstra
Sunday, September 28
Providence vs. Georgetown
Friday, September 26