Thomas F. Coakley, a former hockey player at Brown University and currently Vice President for Administrative Operations at St. Lawrence University, has been chosen the recipient of the 2008 Lou Lamoriello Award by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). The Lamoriello Award is given each year by the Retired Coaches group within the AHCA to honor a former college coach or player who has distinguished himself in his profession after college. It is named after the former Providence College player, coach, and athletic director, Lou Lamoriello, who currently serves as President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s New Jersey Devils.

Coakley, a native of Canton, NY, began working at St. Lawrence in 1982, as a visiting lecturer in economics. A graduate of Brown University with an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennyslvania, he had previously worked for the Augsbury Corporation in Ogdensburg, NY.

“I am indeed overwhelmed and honored by such a recognition,” said Coakley upon hearing of his selection. “Though I was a basic bread and butter college hockey player, nothing other than family has charged me with such passion as hockey and to be honored by the hockey family is something I cherish.”

From 1986 to the present, Coakley has been an administrator at St. Lawrence. The areas for which he is responsible include facilities operations; facilities construction and planning; human resources; dining services; Brewer Bookstore; environmental health and safety; conferences; the University Inn and Golf Course; University real estate and the Canton Initiative, the University program of partnership with the local business community for projects of mutual benefit.

A veteran of the Vietnam War, Coakley and his wife, Nellie, are the parents of four children (Kristen, Brian, Sean, and Erin). Both Tom and Nellie Coakley are active in veterans’ organizations; Nellie was an army nurse and counsels veterans in war trauma. Their story has been featured on the CBS television news magazine “60 Minutes.”

Tom also serves on the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Board and the Canton College Foundation. Arising from his injuries in Vietnam, Coakley is a national board member for the American Board of Certification for Prosthetics and Orthotics Professionals.

The award will be presented on Friday, April 25, during the 2008 AHCA Convention in Naples, FL. Coakley, who has a previously scheduled reunion with some of his Vietnam buddies, will be represented in Naples by his son, Brian, a former Hamilton College hockey player.

This year’s award is the fifth since it was established by former Notre Dame coach Charles “Lefty” Smith and former University of Michigan coach Al Renfrew back in 2004.