In 2009,
Hall of Fame coach
Bill Tierney was named head coach of the Pioneers. Tierney was previously the coach at
Princeton for 22 years, earning 6 NCAA championships in 9 years, appearing in 8 championship games, 9 Final Fours and 11 Ivy League championships. In 2010, the Pioneers tied the program-best record of 12–5 and earned the
ECAC regular season title after completing a 7–0 conference record. Denver would earn just their third
NCAA Tournament berth, where they would lose to
Stony Brook, 9–7, in the first round. In 2011, the Pioneers completed a 15–3 record, again going undefeated in the ECAC at 6–0 to capture the conference regular season and tournament championships. In the
2011 NCAA Tournament the No. 6-seeded Pioneers hosted No. 11
Villanova in front of a standing room-only home crowd of 2,575. In the first NCAA Tournament game to ever be held west of the Mississippi River, Denver earned its first ever tournament win, beating Villanova 13–10 to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal round Denver defeated
Johns Hopkins 14–9 at
James M. Shuart Stadium in
Hempstead, New York to earn a spot in the NCAA Final Four. At
M&T Bank Stadium in
Baltimore the Pioneers would fall to the eventual champion
Virginia by a score of 14–8. Following the school's first NCAA Final Four, the Pioneers completed a 9–7 record while going 3–3 in the ECAC. Although the 9–7 regular season tally did not compare to previous season records, Denver lost six one–goal games, including four in overtime throughout the season. The Pioneers would still make the
2012 NCAA Tournament thanks to one of the toughest schedules in the country. In the first round the Pioneers defeated
North Carolina 16–14 in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but would go on to lose to conference rival and eventual national champion
Loyola-Maryland for the third time, by a score of 10–9 in front of 13,390 fans at the
Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in
Annapolis, Maryland. In 2013, Denver would once again capture the ECAC regular season crown after earning a 6–1 conference record and an 11–3 overall record. After the 11th week of the season Denver would earn the No. 1 ranking in both the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and the USILA Coaches Poll, the first time in program history that they have been ranked No. 1 in the country. Denver would go on to lose to
Ohio State in the ECAC title game, but the Pioneers would earn an at-large bid to the
2013 NCAA Tournament. In the first round Denver would host just the second NCAA Tournament game held west of the Mississippi at a sold out Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. A record 2,621 fans were on hand to see Denver top
Albany 19–14. In the quarterfinals, Denver faced a rematch of a 2011 first round game against
North Carolina, this time at
Lucas Oil Stadium in
Indianapolis, Indiana. After falling behind 6–0 early on, the Pioneers were behind 9–4 at the half but would go 8–2 in the second half, including 5–1 in the final quarter to win 12–11. Denver became the first team in Men’s Lacrosse Championship Quarterfinal history to win after trailing by five goals or more. In the Pioneer's second semifinal appearance in three years, Denver would fall to
Syracuse 9–8 at
Lincoln Financial Field in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Denver would end the season 14–5 and ranked No. 4 in the final polls. The 2015 season was the most successful in DU lacrosse history. The Pioneers won both the Big East regular-season and tournament titles, earning a #4 seed in that year's NCAA tournament. They went on to win the NCAA title, defeating Maryland in the final at Lincoln Financial Field and becoming the first-ever NCAA men's lacrosse champion from outside the
Eastern Time Zone. During the 2023 season, Tierney's top assistant Matt Brown, also a former Pioneers player, was announced as Tierney's replacement. ==Season Results==