After announcing the upcoming inaugural season of women’s soccer as a division-I sport at CSU, athletic director Jack Graham announced Bill Hempen as the first head coach for the team on Wednesday.
Hempen comes to the Rams after his latest stint as a head coach at CU-Boulder, where the Buffs went 114-88-28 during his 11 seasons there, including one trip to the NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen.
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“I am excited to welcome Bill Hempen to the Ram family,” Graham said.
“To attract a coach of his quality and caliber speaks volumes about the excellence of Colorado State University. His experience in building a program and his track record of developing student-athletes make him the right choice to lead our new women’s soccer program.”
Hempen ranks No. 17 in NCAA women’s soccer history in victories as coach (276-188-44) and his programs have produced 10 All-Americans and six players that have gone to play professional soccer.
During his 24 seasons as a coach at the division-I level, Hempen has been named National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Coach of the Year and has been named conference coach of the year four times.
Hempen stepped down as coach after 11 seasons at CU in 2011 and over the past year has served as a scout and player development coach for U.S. Soccer.
The opportunity at CSU provides Hempen the opportunity to get back into the head coaching role and take over a program as it begins its first season at the division-I level, as he did at Duke in 1988.
“The opportunity to build the women’s soccer program at CSU is a dream come true for my family and me,” Hempen said. “I would like to thank Jack Graham for inviting me into the Rams family and giving me the chance to be part of such an excellent university. When asked if I could start today they did not realize I had already clocked in!”
