UDC Head Men’s Soccer Coach Matt Thompson Appointed to NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Committee
INDIANAPOLIS – University of the District of Columbia Head Men's Soccer Coach Matt Thompson has been selected to serve on the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Committee, representing the East Region. His term of service on the committee will begin September 1st, 2014 and continue through September 1st, 2018.
"I am pleased the NCAA has recognized Coach Thompson's expertise and commitment to the sport of soccer in this way," Director of Athletics Patricia Thomas said. "His leadership in this regard provides national level exposure for the University as well as the East Coast Conference, and I am confident he will do an excellent job."
As a member of the committee, Thompson will work alongside seven other regional representatives to evaluate and select sites to host the national tournament, provide oversight over the periodic NCAA regional rankings, and conduct the national tournament which includes the selection and seeding of participants.
Dr. Robert Dranoff, East Coast Conference Commissioner, said the conference was also very pleased to hear of Thompson's appointment. Thompson replaces Tom Lang, Southern Connecticut State Head Men's Soccer Coach, who completed his four-year term this year.
"Coach Thompson has done a good job leading the men's soccer program at UDC, and we are confident he will contribute greatly to our region while serving on this committee," Dranoff said.
Thompson became the head men's soccer coach at UDC on May 3, 2011. In three years, he has guided the Firebirds to two winning seasons, including a 7-6-3 record in Fall 2013.
Thompson came to UDC from Lees McRae College (Banner Elk, NC), where he led the Bobcats to a 13-5-3 record, winning the 2010 Conference Carolinas Regular Season and Conference Tournament Championships as well as a 2010 NCAA Championship berth. A 1998 graduate of Slippery Rock University, he served his alma mater as head men's soccer coach from 2002-2009. During the 2005 season, Thompson served a one-year term on the NCAA Division II Regional Advisory Committee for the Atlantic Region. Prior to Slippery Rock, Thompson was an assistant coach for three years at NCAA DI Robert Morris University.
Thompson has also been extremely active in community engagement. He founded SRU Forgotten Angels, a student-athlete charity aimed at improving the quality of underprivileged children's lives around the world. He led a missionary trip to Haiti in the summer of 2008 and volunteered in New Orleans during the summer of 2009, painting houses and coaching children after Hurricane Katrina. Thompson also guided a group of student-athletes to St. Lucia in 2010 as part of the Forgotten Angels project, and was involved in Special Olympics of Pennsylvania while at SRU.