Michigan State University Athletics
Field Hockey
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- tdurante@ath.msu.edu
- Phone:
- 432-1212
Tamara Durante was been named head coach for the Michigan State field hockey program on February 20, 2026.
Durante spent the previous 11 seasons in East Lansing after her arrival as an assistant coach in 2015. After three years as an assistant, Durante was promoted to associate head coach, serving in that role for the eight seasons.
Durante has helped guide 11 Spartans to All-Big Ten honors including four first-team selections and seven second-team honorees. In 2024, Durante helped produce the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Carmen Pucheta. In addition to the All-Big Ten accolades, eight Spartans garnered National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I All-Region recognition, with two Spartans earning first team honors.
Throughout her time in East Lansing, Durante has been an active member of the greater field hockey community. She currently serves on the NFHCA Board of Directors as a group representative, a position she has held since 2023.
Durante has made an impact at the national level, coaching within the USA Field Hockey system since 2002 where she has held coaching roles with the U-16, U-19 and Rise National Teams. Durante has been head coach of the USA Field Hockey U-16 team since 2023.
In 2008, Durante was an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning U-21 squad at the Junior Pan American Games, and in 2014 she was head coach of the U17 team which won a bronze medal at the Pan Am Youth Olympic Qualifier. She later served as an assistant coach for the 2019 USA Rise team that brought home gold at the 2019 Young Women’s National Championship and bronze at the 2021 Young Women’s National Championship.
Prior to her time in East Lansing, Durante spent 10 seasons at Yale where she was an assistant coach from 2005-10 and associate head coach from 2010-14, spearheading Yale’s recruiting efforts while working with the team’s goalkeepers and forwards. Durante tutored five All-Ivy League goalkeeper selections and helped the Bulldogs to an Ivy League title in 2011. From 2001-04, Durante was an assistant coach at Ohio University, helping guide the Bobcats to the MAC Championship and NCAA Tournament in 2001.
A native of Lachine, Quebec, Durante is a graduate of the University of Alberta.
