Noonan new men's soccer coach at Clemson

After a year of uncertainty in the Clemson men’s soccer program, the Tigers have turned to a proven winner to lead them into the future.

Mike Noonan, who guided Brown University to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and eight Ivy League crowns, was officially named the new head coach of the team on Tuesday.

Phil Hindson served as interim coach during the 2009 season after Trevor Adair resigned in June 2009 following an April 2009 arrest on assault and battery charges.

Clemson finished 6-12-1 last year.

“Clemson has a lot of history and success in collegiate soccer and we look forward to adding on to that success in the future,” Noonan said. “My family and I are excited about coming to Clemson and joining the Tiger family. To leave a place like Brown, it had to be a special opportunity, and Clemson was this special opportunity.”

Ironically Noonan replaced Adair at Brown when Adair accepted the Clemson job in 1995.

“I want to thank (Clemson athletics director) Terry Don Phillips and (assistant athletics director) Kyle Young for entrusting me with the leadership of the Clemson men’s soccer program,” Noonan said. “I was very impressed with both of them as gentlemen and appreciate the opportunity immensely.”

Noonan has a 224-116-41 record in 21 years as a collegiate soccer coach and a 160-77-31 mark at Brown, where he coached the past 15 seasons. In 2009 the Bears finished 11-3-5 and made the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to North Carolina in the second round.

He compiled a 48-23-9 record in four years as head coach at New Hampshire and was the winningest coach in Wildcat history before coming to Brown. He was the 1993 New England Coach of the Year, and in 1992 was named the North Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year.

He received several district and league coach of the year honors while at Brown, and 10 of Noonan’s players have been selected in the annual Major League Soccer draft.

Noonan is just the fifth men’s coach in the 75-year history of Clemson soccer, although he is the third in the last seven months. He inherits a program that claimed national championships in 1984 and 1987 and has 13 ACC titles.

A 1983 graduate of Middlebury College, Noonan was a four-year starter and two-time first team All-American. He played professionally in Sweden, as well as the Major Indoor Soccer League and American Indoor Soccer Association in the United States.

The 47-year-old is married with two children.

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