Colorado University Athletics
Bill Hempen Named Head Coach At Colorado
June 05, 2001 | Soccer
BOULDER, Colo. - The University of Colorado has selected Bill Hempen as the second head soccer coach in its history, athletic director Dick Tharp announced Tuesday.
Hempen, 42, comes to Colorado from Duke University, where he has been the Blue Devils' head coach since the program's inception in 1988. He led Duke teams to nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament and a career record of 162-100-16 (.676). Hempen was the NSCAA National Coach of the Year in 1992, and was also named Atlantic Coach Conference Coach of the Year three times (1992, 1994 and 1997). The hiring is subject to the approval of CU Chancellor Richard Byyny.
"We have established high standards and goals in Athletics 2010, and with respect to our educational and competitive expectations, Bill Hempen has the qualifications to take us to that level," said Tharp. "Bill is a serious competitor, and we are very excited to have attracted coach of this caliber to come to Colorado."
Hempen's teams have finished the season ranked in the national polls nine times with their highest finish coming in 1994, a No. 4 ranking following Duke's first ACC regular season title and a win over 13-time national champion North Carolina to snap the Tar Heels' 101-game unbeaten streak.
"I'm really looking forward to this opportunity to come to Colorado," said Hempen. "This was a great opportunity I could not pass up. I really don't know what to expect from the team outside of playing them one time in 1999 (a 2-0 Duke win in Chapel Hill), but I look forward to working with them this fall. I certainly hope to get the best out of them as quickly as possible."
The 1992 season was among Hempen's finest, as he led his team to a school-record 17 wins and a berth in the national championship game in its first trip to the NCAA tournament. In the years since, Hempen's teams advanced to the NCAA tournament every season sans 1998, and this past year made it to the second round of the tournament following a 14-8-1 season, 4-3 in the ACC.
During his 13 seasons at Duke, he coached several high profile players, most notably All-Americans Kelly Walbert, Kristy Welchel and Sherrill Kester. Walbert, now Kelly Cagle, Welchel and Kester are all players in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). Cagle is a midfielder with the Atlanta Beat and Welchel is a defender for the New York Power. Kester, Duke's most recent All-American, is a starter for the San Diego Spirit.
He also has significant experience with the United States Soccer Federation's Olympic Development Program, specifically in Region III. The program is used to help identify potential national team youth players through an organized series of trials which begin at the district level, progress through the state, regional and finally at the national level. Hempen is currently the coach of the Under-17 girls team and will stay with that squad through the summer. Colorado is located in Region IV.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Hempen was a two-year letterman at goalkeeper at the University of Evansville, known annually as a top soccer school. He graduated from Evansville in 1981 with a degree in Health/Physical Education. The New Jersey Americans of the ASL drafted Hempen in 1980.
Hempen got his start in the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at Centenary College in Shreveport, La., where he served one year prior to his start at Duke. He was an assistant coach on the men's team from 1986-1991, including the 1986 team that won the men's NCAA Championship. Hempen married Duke assistant coach Stephanie Poncher, a 1990 graduate of Colorado, in 1999 and they have a daughter, Emma.
He succeeds Austin Daniels, who resigned from the coaching post on May 20 after five years at Colorado. The Buffs posted a 36-53-5 record in his tenure, including an 18-28-4 mark in conference games. The Buffs qualified for the Big 12 postseason tournament three times (1997, 1999, 2000), but suffered first round losses on all three occasions.
Hempen, 42, comes to Colorado from Duke University, where he has been the Blue Devils' head coach since the program's inception in 1988. He led Duke teams to nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament and a career record of 162-100-16 (.676). Hempen was the NSCAA National Coach of the Year in 1992, and was also named Atlantic Coach Conference Coach of the Year three times (1992, 1994 and 1997). The hiring is subject to the approval of CU Chancellor Richard Byyny.
"We have established high standards and goals in Athletics 2010, and with respect to our educational and competitive expectations, Bill Hempen has the qualifications to take us to that level," said Tharp. "Bill is a serious competitor, and we are very excited to have attracted coach of this caliber to come to Colorado."
Hempen's teams have finished the season ranked in the national polls nine times with their highest finish coming in 1994, a No. 4 ranking following Duke's first ACC regular season title and a win over 13-time national champion North Carolina to snap the Tar Heels' 101-game unbeaten streak.
"I'm really looking forward to this opportunity to come to Colorado," said Hempen. "This was a great opportunity I could not pass up. I really don't know what to expect from the team outside of playing them one time in 1999 (a 2-0 Duke win in Chapel Hill), but I look forward to working with them this fall. I certainly hope to get the best out of them as quickly as possible."
The 1992 season was among Hempen's finest, as he led his team to a school-record 17 wins and a berth in the national championship game in its first trip to the NCAA tournament. In the years since, Hempen's teams advanced to the NCAA tournament every season sans 1998, and this past year made it to the second round of the tournament following a 14-8-1 season, 4-3 in the ACC.
During his 13 seasons at Duke, he coached several high profile players, most notably All-Americans Kelly Walbert, Kristy Welchel and Sherrill Kester. Walbert, now Kelly Cagle, Welchel and Kester are all players in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). Cagle is a midfielder with the Atlanta Beat and Welchel is a defender for the New York Power. Kester, Duke's most recent All-American, is a starter for the San Diego Spirit.
He also has significant experience with the United States Soccer Federation's Olympic Development Program, specifically in Region III. The program is used to help identify potential national team youth players through an organized series of trials which begin at the district level, progress through the state, regional and finally at the national level. Hempen is currently the coach of the Under-17 girls team and will stay with that squad through the summer. Colorado is located in Region IV.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Hempen was a two-year letterman at goalkeeper at the University of Evansville, known annually as a top soccer school. He graduated from Evansville in 1981 with a degree in Health/Physical Education. The New Jersey Americans of the ASL drafted Hempen in 1980.
Hempen got his start in the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at Centenary College in Shreveport, La., where he served one year prior to his start at Duke. He was an assistant coach on the men's team from 1986-1991, including the 1986 team that won the men's NCAA Championship. Hempen married Duke assistant coach Stephanie Poncher, a 1990 graduate of Colorado, in 1999 and they have a daughter, Emma.
He succeeds Austin Daniels, who resigned from the coaching post on May 20 after five years at Colorado. The Buffs posted a 36-53-5 record in his tenure, including an 18-28-4 mark in conference games. The Buffs qualified for the Big 12 postseason tournament three times (1997, 1999, 2000), but suffered first round losses on all three occasions.
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