Jan. 24, 2005

The University of Dayton has announced that Dennis Currier, a finalist for the 2004 NSCAA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year Award, has been named the Flyers' new head men's soccer coach.

Currier, 34, comes to Dayton from the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, where his team finished the 2004 season ranked fifth nationally with a record of 18-4-1 and a first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight.

"I'm very honored and excited to become the next men's soccer coach at the University of Dayton," Currier said. "When I looked into the position, I was impressed with the University's commitment to the sport. Baujan Field is a great soccer setting, and I can't wait to coach my first game there."

"My philosophy is to attack, attack, and attack some more. We will ask our players for a full commitment on the field and in the classroom. When they give that commitment, the results that follow will speak for themselves."

A native of St. Louis, Currier's four-year record at Incarnate Word was 62-15-7. His first team at UIW in 2001 was 12-8-1, and won the first of four straight conference championships. In 2002, Currier guided the team to a 16-1-3 record, a #12 national ranking and the school's first NCAA tournament bid. In 2003, UIW was 16-2-2, returned to the NCAA tournament and was ranked 10th in the nation.

In addition to the four conference titles, Currier's teams were ranked #2 in the region three times. He guided Incarnate Word to a school-record 34-game unbeaten streak from 2001 to 2003.

He coached eight NSCAA All-Americans, two NSCAA Scholar All-Americans, three conference Players of the Year and recruited three players who went on to be named conference Freshmen of the Year.

His teams had the highest GPA in the conference two of his four seasons at UIW.

Before coaching at Incarnate Word, Currier coached for seven seasons at Harris-Stowe State College in St. Louis, where he was 126-34-5. Harris-Stowe was ranked nationally from 1996 to 2000, and advanced as far as the 2000 NAIA national semi-finals. While at Harris-Stowe, he was named Regional Coach of the Year three times.

Currier's career coaching record is 188-49-9. His winning percentage of .779 is third among coaches now coaching at the Division I level, and 17th among active coaches at all divisions.

"Dennis jumped out from a strong pool of candidates, and we're very excited that he will be our men's soccer coach," Tim Wabler, UD's Associate Vice-President for Athletics, said. "His won-loss record is one of the best in the country, to be sure. But we were also impressed by how many of his players earned high academic honors, which shows his commitment to academics, and by how many players he has playing professionally, which demonstrates how he develops individual players after they come to play for him."

In his 11 seasons as a head coach, Currier has coached 57 academic all-conference student-athletes, twelve of whom who also were named academic all-region. Thirteen of his players have gone on to play professionally.

Currier is a 1992 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. He and his wife Tonya are the parents of two daughters-Sydney (8) and Morgan Elizabeth (3).

Dayton was 11-7-1 last season, finishing second in the Atlantic 10 regular season. The Flyers were upset in the semi-finals of the A-10 Tournament. The Flyers will return 22 letterwinners and seven starters for 2005.

Currier succeeds Dave Schureck, who resigned in December to take the head coaching position at his alma mater, Xavier University.