Feb. 10, 2006
IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa Athletic Department has announced the hiring of Ron Rainey as its new head soccer coach.
Rainey joins the Hawkeyes from Ball State University, where he served as the school’s head coach since the program’s inaugural season in 1999. Under his tutelage, the Cardinals posted a 70-52-17 record in seven seasons.
“We are extremely pleased to have Ron as part of our staff,” said Iowa Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby. “He did a great job in building the soccer program at Ball State, and we are convinced he will take Hawkeye soccer to the next level.”
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“This is an outstanding opportunity for me as a professional, and for my family. We are very excited to return to the University of Iowa and be a part of its rich academic and athletic tradition.”
Ron Rainey, Iowa’s new women’s soccer coach
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Ball State showed swift improvement under Rainey’s guidance, and amassed a 62-25-14 record in the last five years. In 2001, he coached the third-year program to a 12-6-2 record and was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year.
This past season, Rainey guided Ball State to its most successful campaign. The Cardinals posted a 15-3-2 record and advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the fifth-consecutive year.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for me as a professional, and for my family,” Rainey said. “We are very excited to return to the University of Iowa and be a part of its rich academic and athletic tradition. Leaving Ball State is very difficult because of all of the quality people we have met and been associated with in the last seven years. Ball State and the Muncie community have been wonderful to me and my family, and we are looking forward to developing the same relationships in the state of Iowa and amongst the University of Iowa community.”
Before starting the program at Ball State, Rainey served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa for the first two seasons of the Hawkeye program (1997-98). In Iowa’s first year of varsity soccer, Rainey helped the squad to an 8-11 record with a 2-7 mark in the Big Ten. The team was named the No. 1 first-year program by Soccer Buzz.
Prior to his stint with Iowa, Rainey was the head women’s coach at Towson State University for one year, where his team was 10-7-2 and won the American East Tournament. He has also served as an assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati (1995-96), head coach and sports information director at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (1994-1995) and was the graduate assistant coach at Trenton State College (1992-94).
Outside the collegiate ranks, Rainey has served as a regional staff coach for the Region II Girls Olympic Development Program every summer since 1994. He received his United States Soccer Federation “A” License in 1996 and his “B” License in 1995.
He has also written articles for leading soccer publications such as Soccer Coaching Magazine and presented at numerous coaching clinics around the Midwest.
Rainey graduated from Wilkes University in 1992 with degrees in Mathematics and English. He went on to get his Master of Education degree from Trenton State College in 1994.
As a player, Rainey was a three-time captain and team MVP for Wilkes University. In 1990, he was a second team National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Region pick.