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Nicholls soccer is looking for a head coach.
The need to find a replacement is great, as the Colonels’ 2016 season begins in less than a month.
Soccer coach Dylan Harrison announced this week that he was resigning from his position at Nicholls so that he could take the same position at his alma mater — Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
The move ends one of the most successful runs in the history of Nicholls soccer. Harrison was 49-76-7 in his seven-year tenure, but pushed the Colonels to the Southland Conference Tournament in both 2013 and 2014.
Under the coach, Nicholls also rebranded, opening a new, refurbished soccer complex in 2012, which helped the team better compete against the top programs in the Southland Conference.
“We will remember Dylan’s success on the field and with our student-athletes as he helped to create a winning tradition for our soccer program,” outgoing Nicholls Athletic Director Rob Bernardi said. “I speak for the entire department in thanking him for everything he has done for our student-athletes and our program. We wish him continued success in San Antonio.”
“I can’t begin to thank all of the people that made my time at Nicholls so special,” Harrison added. “But I know it starts with the countless players who made a tremendous impression on my life. We recruited with three promises and we feel we never let our student athletes down.”
Bernardi said a national search would begin immediately to find Harrison’s replacement.
Whoever the nominee will be will have pretty lofty shoes to fill.
Under Harrison, the Colonels completely revamped their program — evolving from a team annually at the bottom of the Southland standings into a contender.
Harrison took over the team in 2009 and helped the team have an immediate on-field impact. In that first season, the Colonels snapped a 16-match conference losing streak, tying Texas-San Antonio in a mid-season conference match. The team also tied a school record for wins, despite going just 4-15-
1 on the season.
Later in Harrison’s tenure, the Colonels’ success continued to build.
In 2010, they broke the school wins record, finishing 6-10-2. In that season, they also won four-straight matches during the non-conference period.
Harrison also became Nicholls’ all-time wins leader in 2011, while helping the team set offensive records in 2012, despite a 5-13 season.
In 2013, the Colonels started to see the largest fruits from Harrison’s labors.
In that year, the Colonels had a magical run, posting a 12-6-2 campaign — the first-ever winning season for Nicholls soccer.
They followed it up in 2014 with a 10-10 season, which included a second-straight trip to the Southland Conference Tournament. The Colonels also beat Southern Mississippi and Southeastern Louisiana in that run — the school’s first victories over either program.
Harrison said the decision to leave Nicholls wasn’t easy, because Thibodaux will forever be the city where he met his wife, earned an MBA and made countless memories which will last a lifetime.
But he said Trinity University is special to both he and his family, too, and the challenges of going back to his alma mater were hard to turn away from.
“What we have accomplished over the past few years would not have been possible without the support of our players, their families, my family, Nicholls faculty, administration and the hardest-working support staff in the conference,” Harrison said. “I know Rob Bernardi will do a great job finding my replacement and committing the resources needed to continue with our program goals of winning conference championships.”
Bernardi said he hopes to have a new coach hired in the coming weeks.
The clock is ticking on a hire, because the collegiate soccer season starts in early-to-mid August. Teams usually open preseason practices in late July.
Outgoing Nicholls soccer coach Dylan Harrison smiles as he walks off the field before a game last season. Harrison resigned from his post last week to take over at Trinity University.
