12/23/25
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Athletics Department is happy to announce that coaching veteran Mark Ross has been named as the next head football coach for the Lackawanna College Falcons, effective immediately.
"We couldn't be more thrilled to name Mark Ross as our head coach," said
Erik Larson, Director of Athletics at Lackawanna College, "his energy, integrity, and clear vision for our student-athletes align perfectly with where Lackawanna College football is headed."
Ross has coaching experience dating back 30 years, when he began his coaching career as the defensive ends coach at East Stroudsburg. He spent four seasons with the Warriors before leaving to join the staff at Ithaca College, where he spent eleven years. He eventually worked his way up to becoming the defensive coordinator for the Bombers, running the defense for four seasons, as well as heading the Strength & Conditioning program for the football team.
Ross left Ithaca in 2011 to become the head football coach at Misericordia University, which competes in the Middle Atlantic Conference in NCAA Division III. Ross was the first-ever head coach for the Cougars, and he won a combined 14 games in his final two seasons in 2018 and 2019, which included the first-ever bowl appearances for Misericordia. His 2018 squad went 8-3 and made a postseason bowl for the first time in school history. That performance won Ross MAC Coach of the Year. In his time at Misericordia, Ross emphasized the academic component to his student-athletes, and the Cougars excelled. While Ross was in charge, no other team in the Middle Atlantic Conference had more Academic Honor Roll honorees than the Cougars.
"We chose Mark Ross because his leadership approach, emphasis on player development, and commitment to academics and community match the core priorities of Lackawanna College athletics," said Larson.
He resigned from Misericordia after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 to become the defensive coordinator at Bloomsburg University, where he spent three seasons coaching the defense. The Huskies were a third-ranked defense in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference during the 2023 campaign in points allowed, and his team earned a top-20 ranking in turnover margin in 2021. Bloomsburg had 28 takeaways in 2021, first in the PSAC and ninth across NCAA Division II.
After his time at Bloomsburg, Ross became the Director of Football Operations at Cornell University for the 2024 season. He helped manage the operations of the football team, including coordinating travel, meals, compliance, and recruiting, while also serving as the liaison to the alumni office and donors to the football program. Cornell went 4-6 in his one season with the Big Red, which included an upset over then-#24 Dartmouth College at home.
"His (Ross) hiring will maintain the stability of the program, accelerate recruiting, and set a disciplined, purpose-driven culture that elevates our student-athletes on the field and in the classroom," said Larson.
Mark Ross is a Penn State graduate, earning a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education in 1991, and he also holds a Master's degree in Sport Management from East Stroudsburg.
He will inherit a Lackawanna College squad that was 4-6 in its final season of junior college competition in 2025, but still had three All-American selections, including a second-team selection in offensive lineman
Jason Hoskins (Dover, DE), as well as honorable mention honorees in quarterback
Jacob Tiberi (Smyrna, DE) and wide receiver
Christian Harrison (Temple Hills, MD).
The 2026 Falcons will compete as a four-year institution for the first time in program history and will play a full Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) schedule.
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