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February 6, 2019
The Nicholls State University soccer team will have a new leader next fall.
Athletic Director Matt Roan announced last week that coach Mac McBride had resigned from his position — just months after coaching the Colonels to just a 3-15 record and 1-10 mark in Southland Conference play.
Both coach and athletic director said the decision was not forced — a move that McBride is making because of personal reasons.
Assistant coach Danny Free will be the Colonels’ interim head coach into the offseason until an official hire is made following what’s expected to be a nationwide search.
“I want to thank Nicholls State University for the opportunity it gave me to lead its women’s soccer program and for the unwavering support the administration has given me throughout my tenure,” McBride said. “The people at Nicholls make it a very special university indeed. Being the soccer coach at Nicholls is an experience I will never forget.”
McBride’s on-field tenure at Nicholls was filled with ups and downs.
He took over the team in 2016 late in the summer — just weeks before the season — after former coach Dylan Harrison resigned to take the same job at his alma mater, Trinity University in San Antonio.
The 2016 season was McBride’s best. The Colonels posted a 6-8-2 record, which included a 3-6-2 record in Southland Conference play.
In 2017, Nicholls again won 6 games, but had more loses and a worst record in Southland matches, posting a 6-11-1 overall mark and a 3-7-1 mark in the league.
But in 2018, the Colonels really struggled, battling youth and new faces throughout their lineup. In McBride’s final season with the team, Nicholls posted just a 3-15 mark with a lone Southland win — a 2-0 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Senior Day.
The Colonels were competitive throughout the season, but struggled to score. The team was shut out of nine of its 18 matches.
But despite the downward swing in 2018, Roan said McBride left the program in good condition with several returnees coming back with starting experience and playing time.
The McBride family is moving to Texas due to a work-related opportunity that Mac’s wife Becky was recently given — a large factor in the decision.
“Coach Mac has laid a foundation for Nicholls Soccer to flourish in the years to come and we are thankful for his contributions,” Roan said.
Away from the win/loss records and on-pitch successes, there is no questioning McBride’s impact on the Colonels’ soccer program.
In McBride’s tenure, Nicholls has posted a high team GPA, while doing countless hours of volunteer work in the community.
The team recently earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award for the third-straight season — one of just two NCAA Division I teams to hold that distinction.
Nicholls also received the USC Team Academic Award all three seasons under the outgoing coach by maintaining a minimum team GPA of 3.0 or higher each year.
Roan said replacing that level of character and class will be a hit to not just Nicholls soccer — but the entire athletic department.
“He fit into our department incredibly well and helped with the establishment of a positive culture, placed a premium on academics and giving back and leaves the program in great standing for future competitive seasons,” Roan said. “We were fortunate to have Coach Mac lead our program for the last three seasons and I’m personally happy for him that he’s reuniting with his family.”
McBride said the decision to leave Nicholls is hard, but it becomes easier knowing that he’s leaving the program in a good place and with good people at the helm.
McBride said Free and the rest of the team’s coaches will do a great job while waiting on a full-time hire to be made.
“I’m very proud of the way the team has represented itself through community outreach, nationally-recognized sportsmanship on the field and stellar work in the classroom,” McBride said. “The final piece of the jigsaw is results on the field and those results will come. With Interim Coach Free at the helm, the future of Nicholls soccer is very bright, indeed. He is knowledgeable, competitive and hungry for success.”
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