Former U.S. Naval Academy all-American Jeff Long completed his 27th season as head men's lacrosse coach at Ithaca in 2014. Ithaca's winningest lacrosse coach, Long has compiled an overall record of 266-140. He was voted the Empire 8 Coach of the Year in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2014. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse

Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Ithaca College Hall of Fame in 2010. In 1988 Long took over a team that had gone 9-16 over the previous two seasons; four years later the Bombers were in the NCAA playoffs. The 1991 team finished 9-3, winning the programs first ICAC championship in seven seasons and earning league coach of the year honors for Long. The next year the Bombers won the conference (EAA) title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and once again Long was named coach of the year. He was also named the Division III Coach of the Year by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) in 1992. Long had the Bombers back in the playoff hunt in 1997, thanks in part to a seven-game winning streak. In 1998 Ithaca took the next step and reached the NCAA playoffs for the first time in six years.

In 1999 the Bombers posted a 7-6 record and followed that with an 11-3 record in 2000. In 2001 the Bombers were back in the playoffs, posting a 1-1 record in the postseason. In 2002 Ithaca made the NCAA semifinals for the third time in school history. In 2003 Ithaca finished 11-3 and four Bombers were named USILA all-Americans.

In 2004 the Bombers won the Empire 8 regular-season title, finishing with a 13-3 record and a year later repeated as the league's regular-season champions while posting the program's first unbeaten conference record. The 2006 team tallied a 12-5 record, the first of four consecutive 12-win seasons. The following season, the Bombers won a fourth straight Empire 8 regular-season title and extended Ithacas conference record to 23 consecutive Empire 8 wins. The Bombers earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals. The 2008 team brought the program to new heights of success. The Bombers set a school record with 17 wins and defeated RIT 12-9 to win the program's first Empire 8 title since 2002.