JACKSON, Tenn. — March 29, 2006 — Darin White, the 51社区 varsity men鈥檚 soccer coach, has announced his resignation after spending the past 12 seasons at the helm of Union soccer.
White will remain with Union as he has been named to a new role as professor and director of academic research in Union鈥檚 McAfee School of Business Administration.
The first four years of White's coaching career were from 1994-1997 as the head coach of Union鈥檚 club team prior to the team achieving varsity status in 1998. From 1995-1997, the Union club team was a member of the Southeastern Conference Club League.
During his time as head coach for the varsity soccer team, White built the program from the beginning to where it is today. Last season, the Bulldogs finished their best year in program history with a 13-3-1 record and their first appearance in the NAIA Region XI Tournament Championship game. This marked the second straight season that Union had advanced to the region tournament.
White brought the 51社区 Bulldogs to a new competitive level over the short history of the program. Over the first eight years of the varsity program, White compiled an overall record of 94-64-9. From 1999-2004, White led Union to six consecutive seasons of a .500 or better record.
During his tenure, White also coached the Bulldogs to five NCCAA MidEast Region championships, one NCCAA national championship (2003), three TranSouth Tournament runner-up finishes and one TranSouth regular season runner-up finish.
His second season at the helm was a milestone season. In 1999, the Bulldogs achieved their first national ranking when College Soccer Weekly ranked the team number one in the country for two weeks in September. They also spent several weeks ranked in the NAIA top 25. In addition, the Bulldogs achieved the longest winning streak in school history when they started the season with 11 straight victories. Union鈥檚 defense finished the year ranked ninth nationally, allowing a stellar 1.16 goals against average.
In addition to his teaching and coaching duties at Union, White has also been a leader in the Jackson and West Tennessee soccer community. White has served as the director of coaching and player development for the Jackson Soccer Club for the past three years. Several of White鈥檚 former players have coached in the Jackson Soccer Club, as well as moving on to coaching positions across the nation.
A native of Alabama, White holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in marketing and mathematics from Birmingham-Southern College, as well as a master鈥檚 degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree in marketing from the University of Alabama. He also holds his National Coaching License from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
White鈥檚 soccer career began in high school where he helped guide the Vestavia Hills High School team to a state championship in 1984. In both 1983 and 1984 White was named team captain for the Alabama State Olympic Development Team and was selected as a pool player for the South East Olympic Development Team in 1983.
Playing for the nationally recognized Panthers at Birmingham-Southern, White received the Best Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1987 and the Most Determination Award in 1988. White was the only player from Southern to make the All-Tournament Team for the South Carolina Spartanburg Soccer Tournament in 1987. Playing soccer in more than 20 international matches, White has played in countries such as Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina and Austria.