Temple University Athletics
Hall of Famer Anne Sage to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
8.18.22 | Field Hockey
PHILADELPHIA - The NFHCA has announced Temple field hockey alum Anne Sage as this year's Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Sage, who passed away in 2019, will be presented with the award posthumously in conjunction with the organization's annual convention at Lake Marion, S.C. on January 13.
Sage's collegiate career at Temple saw her captain both the field hockey and women's lacrosse teams, twice earning All-American honors in lacrosse. She was named Temple's Outstanding Senior Athlete in 1967 and was inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987. Her high school career at Abington High School in Pennsylvania saw her dominate in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. She was Abington's Outstanding Female Athlete as a senior and would earn induction into Abington's Athletics Hall of Fame. She was also a member of the U.S. National Women's Lacrosse Team from 1963-70.
In her professional career, Sage served as head field hockey coach at Penn for 24 seasons and head women's lacrosse coach for 26 in her role as Director of Field Hockey and Lacrosse. She is just one of three head coaches all-time for both programs – amassing 339 total wins during her time patrolling the sidelines. Her 178-115-32 record as field hockey head coach still ranks her as the all-time winningest coach in program history and her 151 wins with women's lacrosse have been surpassed only by head coach Karin Corbett.
The first head coach of Penn's varsity field hockey and women's lacrosse teams, Sage was instrumental in the formation of both programs. She had a winning record in 20 of her 24 field hockey seasons and won 10+ games six times in her career. After the addition of field hockey as an Ivy League sport in 1979, Sage won seven Ivy League championships in 16 seasons, only finishing lower than third once. In 1988, she was named Coach of the Year by the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association.
Her teams advanced to the field hockey postseason 10 times, including a run to the 1988 NCAA Final Four which her program proudly hosted at Franklin Field. Her program was a fixture in the Top-20, completing nine seasons with Top-20 national rankings with a high of No. 4 in 1988. Six Quakers earned All-American honors during her time as field hockey coach, five were named Ivy League Player of the Year, and 48 were recognized as first-team All-Ivy selections.
In the spring, Sage continued her success as head coach of the women's lacrosse team. She coached the program's first Ivy League championship in 1982, and four of her teams reached the postseason including AIAW semifinal appearances in 1980 and 1982 before NCAA Tournament runs in 1983 and 1984. Her teams would finish in the Top-20 on five occasions during her time as head coach. She guided 10 women's lacrosse All-Americans and 27 of her players earned All-Ivy honors, including one Ivy League Player of the Year and three Ivy League Rookies of the Year.
Sage not only broke ground for women as student-athletes at Penn, she also championed causes in every walk of life. In 1990, Sage was awarded both Coach of the Year by the March of Dimes and the 1995 Robert Davies Award (along with her fellow Penn coaches) for Promoting Social Change and Social Justice at the University of Pennsylvania and beyond.
The NFHCA Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2019 as a way to distinguish a seasoned coach and their significant impact on field hockey. With this award their courage, leadership, and strength are being recognized as well as their outstanding commitment to the sport. Past honorees are Sharon Taylor, Nancy Cox, and Dr. Suzanne Tyler.
