Hall of Fame
Ben Mack was a true Pioneer in every sense of the word. Not only was he a member of the College's first varsity men's lacrosse team, but he also scored the program's first three goals, he was the program's first offensive Most Valuable Player , he was the first player in program-history to reach the 100 point milestone for his career and he was the program's first and only two-time captain.
Mack was a lacrosse coaches dream, displaying unmatched versatility that the College has yet to experience again since his time on campus in the early 2000's. He was a jack of all trades, dominating the face-off “x”, scooping up ground balls and finding the back of the net like no other player in the program's 11 year history. In two short years, Mack solidified himself as one of the best all-around lacrosse players to ever step foot on campus at Utica College. In short, if you were going to start a lacrosse program and you could pick one player to start with, Ben Mack would be the first pick, hands down.
The culmination of his collegiate career came when he was selected by a panel of coaches and administrators as the 2001 Dick Miller Award winner. Mack was selected because he was the best suitable athlete based on character, community involvement and athletic accomplishments. The award, generally given to the top athlete at Utica College, also recognizes what Miller stood for: courage, perseverance, integrity, and the spirit of competition. Upon completion of his record setting career he joined Head Coach Tim Nelson as an assistant on the UC coaching staff.
Mack was a two-time offensive Most Valuable Player (2000, 2001) and in 2009 the award was endowed in his name. It will forever be known as the “Ben Mack” Offensive Most Valuable Player award. Originally from Dexter, N.Y., Ben spent his early days playing boys lacrosse for the Lions of General Brown High School. Out of high school he attended Jefferson Community College before rejoining current UC Head Coach Mike Parnell on the turf at the newly constructed Charles A. Gaetano Stadium on campus at Utica College to play under Coach Nelson.
Ben currently resides in the Syracuse area where he is a Bank Manager at Bank of America. He is the son of Gary and the late Yoshiko Mack.
