Charity Game Honors Memory of Duke Lacrosse Player, Army Ranger

The Duke University lacrosse team played Saturday in honor of one of its old stars, Army Sgt. James John Regan, who died in Iraq over a year ago.

Posted 5:43 p.m. Apr 20, 2008 — Updated 5:43 p.m. Apr 20, 2008

MANHASSET, N.Y. — Duke University lacrosse players took the field Saturday in the hometown of one of their former stars, who became an Army Ranger and died in combat in Iraq.

The Lacrosse Day of Champions game between second-ranked Duke and eighth-ranked Army raised more than $150,000. The money will go to enhance Manhasset's community athletic facilities and to support dependents of U.S. Army Rangers.

A ceremony before the game honored the memory of Sgt. James John Regan, who helped the Duke lacrosse team win two conference championships between 1999 and 2002.

The Blue Devils also won this game, 10-6, and secured the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Regan, called "Jimmy" while at Duke, was selected for the All-ACC academic and tournament teams his senior year. After graduation, a job offer from a Wall Street financial firm and a scholarship from Southern University Methodist's law school beckoned him.

Instead, Regan chose to enlist in the Army after September 11 and passed on officer's candidate school to qualify as a ranger.

He died when an improvised-explosive device struck his vehicle while on combat patrol in northern Iraq on Feb. 9, 2007. It was his second tour of duty in the country.

During his three years in the Army, Regan earned a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and several medals marking his service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

University officials said that Regan had planned to marry his fiancee, a medical school student, a month after his enlistment ended in February 2008. He wanted to teach social studies and coach lacrosse at a high school.

Regan was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

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