Bowling Green State University Athletics
Andy Richards Agrees to Contract Extension
May 23, 2008 | Women's Soccer
May 23, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Bowling Green State University has reached an agreement with Falcon women's soccer coach Andy Richards on a two-year contract extension, BGSU Director of Athletics Greg Christopher has announced. The contract now runs through June 30, 2011.
"Coach Richards is an outstanding, energetic individual and coach, and has raised the women's soccer program to a level of sustained success," said Christopher. "His student-athletes have been successful in the classroom as well as on the field, and this contract extension is a reward for his outstanding contributions. We are thrilled to keep him in the Falcon family."
Richards had inked a three-year contract in February of 2006, marking the first time in school history that a soccer coach had received a multi-year contract. He will enter his ninth season as BGSU's head coach in the fall of 2008.
"I am extremely excited to have been asked to sign an extension to my existing contract, and to commit further to the Bowling Green women's soccer program," said Richards. "I am very grateful to Greg Christopher and (Senior Associate A.D./SWA) Janna Blais for continuing to believe in my ability to lead the program, and I look forward to a bright future of Falcon soccer."
 Richards talks to his team prior to a 2007 game at Cochrane Field (photo by Doug Sampson)  |
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Richards' teams have been at their best come Mid-American Conference Tournament time. During his watch, the Falcons are 9-4-5 in league tourney games. No MAC coach has as many trips to the league tournament's title game as Richards, as the 2007 season marked the fifth time he had guided a BG squad to the championship match. Two of those appearances resulted in MAC Tournament titles and trips to the NCAA Championships.
Last season, Richards led the Falcons to a 10-9-3 overall mark and a 6-5-0 MAC ledger. The Brown and Orange finished fourth in the MAC's regular-season standings, and advanced all the way to the championship match of the conference tournament for the fourth time in five seasons. The Falcons closed the 2007 season on a seven-match unbeaten streak.
In 2006, Richards guided a youthful BGSU squad to a 10-10-0 overall record. That team, with 12 first-year Falcons on the 24-woman squad, tied for third in the MAC with a 7-4-0 league ledger.
That season came on the heels of a 2005 campaign that saw the Falcons win both the MAC's regular-season and tournament titles. In '05, Richards led the Brown and Orange to a 14-7-2 overall record, including a 9-2-0 league ledger, earning MAC Coach-of-the-Year honors.
The 2005 team set a school record for wins, both overall and in MAC play, and won the league's tournament title for the second consecutive year. That team also set a BG mark with an 11-match unbeaten streak, which began in late September and took the Falcons all the way through the league tournament and into the NCAAs.
Richards and the '05 Falcons swept the MAC's specialty awards, as senior Samantha Meister was the league's Player of the Year and Corbie Yee was named the MAC Freshman of the Year. Richards, in addition to being named the conference coach of the year, was runner-up for Soccer Buzz Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year.
The previous fall, BGSU won the MAC Tournament title to earn the first NCAA Championships berth in school history. The 2004 Falcons, who entered the league tournament as the eighth seed, posted three upsets to capture the conference crown.
In his eight seasons, Richards has led the Falcons to seven MAC Tournament appearances, advancing to the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament six times and to the final on five occasions, including three-straight seasons from 2003-05.
Richards was hired as the second coach in BGSU women's soccer history on April 10, 2000. He came to BG after five seasons as assistant women's soccer coach at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore.
A native of Warwick, England, Richards brought to the Falcons a wealth of experience in not only intercollegiate soccer, but also in club, high school and youth soccer. For the two years prior to coming to BG, Richards served as a member of the coaching staff for the Region IV Olympic Development Program.
He was also the state coach for the 17-year-old age group of the Oregon ODP. Richards was heavily involved with the Corvallis United Soccer Club in his final four years there.
Prior to his appointment at Oregon State, Richards spent five years as the Regional Director for Goal Line Soccer Clinics in Oregon. Richards taught and coached at the high-school level in England before moving to the United States.
Richards earned his Bachelor of Education degree from Sheffield City Polytechnic, located in Sheffield, England, in 1989. He received his Master of Education degree from Oregon State in 1997.
THE RICHARDS ERA - YEAR-BY-YEAR AT BGSU
Year Overall Pct. MAC Pct. MAC Finish MAC Tournament
2000 10-10-1 .500 5-5-1 .500 7th of 12 Advanced to Championship
2001 7-10-2 .421 2-9-1 .208 12th of 13 Did not qualify
2002 12-8-2 .591 7-4-1 .625 4th of 13 Advanced to Semifinals
2003 8-12-3 .413 5-5-2 .500 8th of 13 Advanced to Championship
2004 10-12-2 .458 5-5-2 .500 8th of 13 Tournament Champions
2005 14-7-2 .652 9-2-0 .818 1st of 12 Tournament Champions
2006 10-10-0 .500 7-4-0 .636 T-3rd of 12 Advanced to Quarterfinals
2007 10-9-3 .523 6-5-0 .545 4th of 12 Advanced to Championship
Totals 81-78-15 .509 46-39-7 .538 1 MAC Regular-Season Title;
2 MAC Tournament Titles;
2 NCAA Championships Appearances
