Dr. Thomas Orr is the professor for Sport and Leisure Management at the University of Mary while serving as the assistant coach of Men’s Ice Hockey. He has had extensive experience as a player, official, supervisor, coach and administrator in numerous sports. Dr. Orr has been scouting for Indiana University for over a decade as the Midwest Regional Scout. When he served as “Coach Orr”, he led the Indiana Hoosiers for five years as a coach and spent the final two seasons as the head coach and director of hockey operations. He oversaw the addition of a second ACHA team as well as the transition to ACHA Division 1, where he was rewarded by being named to coach the 2010 ACHA D1 All Star game hosted by Adrian University. Tom is a former Hoosier captain whose career spanned from the highly regarded 2001-2002 season and culminated with an impressive season of defensive play that helped lead the 2004 Hoosiers to the number one ranking going into nationals his final season.
Dr. Orr came to Indiana University after serving as an assistant coach in North Dakota for the 26-time state champion Grand Forks Central Knights. As a player, Tom’s junior rights were with the Winkler Flyers of the MJHL, Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL, and the Fargo Moorhead Ice Sharks of the USHL. Tom eventually played three years of junior hockey in Canada and was the only American selected to the HTJHL All-Star game in his final season. Tom attempted to walk on with the 1997 Fighting Sioux NCAA Division 1 National Championship hockey team but did not make the final roster. After staying in school and completing his degree at North Dakota, he came to IU in hope of his own national championship and continuing his education. After playing and coaching at Indiana, Dr. Orr briefly was the Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operation for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, however he reported to Northern State University where he served as Professor of Sport Management and Department head of HPE. Later he joined the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he was a professor of Sport Management and Program Coordinator. During this time Coach Orr was able to lead a variety of youth and AAA teams as well as serve as a skill coach for youth and junior teams. He is a level 5 coach with USA hockey and enjoys teaching future coaches the art of coaching through his roles in education and hockey. Dr. Orr serves as the Associate Director for the Center on Sport Policy & Conduct, an organization dedicated to improving sport. He has authored a text book and a wide range of scholarly articles and presentations in the area of coaching and sport management.
His wife Matty was an elite hockey player at the University of Minnesota, and they have been raising a full line of 5 hockey players, Lyndon, Jocelyn, Ellen, Juliette and Brekken. Dr. Orr directs and leads camps for Pro Ambitions, the official camp of the Boston Bruins each summer. He has a hockey consulting and training business called Hockey PhD and scouts for a variety of AAA, Junior, and pro teams in his spare time. He is very excited to continue in his role to help the Marauders in their pursuit of excellence.
