DECATUR, Ill.—Millikin University Director of Athletics Joe Hakes is pleased to announce that Mark Stollsteimer has been named the Big Blue’s new men’s soccer head coach.
Stollsteimer comes to Millikin after spending the last 12 years as the head coach at Davis & Elkins College, an NCAA Division II School, in Elkins, West Virginia. Stollsteimer spent one year as an assistant coach and one year as the interim head coach before being promoted to Davis & Elkins’ head coach in 1997. At that time, Stollsteimer was the youngest NCAA Division I or II Head Men’s Soccer Coach. In the last few seasons, Stollsteimer has had the Senators program on a roll. Since 2006, his teams were 37-18-06. In 2007, the Senators were 17-5 and won the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship. Stollsteimer was named the conference’s Coach of the Year in 2007 with his team being ranked in the Top 25 nationally in NCAA Division II in four defensive categories including shut-outs and goals against average. In 2008, the Senators spent five weeks nationally ranked in the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of American) Top 25 poll reaching #10 in week five of the season.
"Mark Stollsteimer has a lot of head coaching experience that should be a real boost to our program,” said Hakes. “The men's soccer team here has made a definite upturn in the past two years and bringing in an experienced coach with some real positive energy is exactly what we need. He has been successful in a very difficult league and we are confident that he will transfer that success to Millikin quickly. I am really looking forward to seeing him build a consistently strong program."
“My family and I are extremely excited to be moving to Decatur and joining the Millikin family,” said Stollsteimer. “I'm excited about the vision and direction Athletic Director Joe Hakes has for the athletic department and I'm looking forward to working in such a positive environment.”
Under Stollsteimer’s leadership, Davis & Elkins produced one All-American, 11 All-Region selections and 23 All-Conference performers. He also had 21 players earn Academic All-Conference Honors.
As a player, Stollsteimer was a four year starter and NCAA Division I Richmond earning All-Region honors in his senior season.
Stollsteimer inherits a Millikin men’s soccer program on the upswing with a wealth of talent. In the fall, the Big Blue expects to return 21 letter winners from a team that went 10-8-2 last season and was competitive in every game they played. He replaces B.J. Noble who left Millikin earlier this year to become the Director of Soccer Operations at Notre Dame de Namur University, an NCAA Division II school in Belmont, Calif.
“I plan to continue to build on the recent success of the Millikin men's soccer team,” adds Stollsteimer. “My goal is to consistently qualify for the CCIW tournament and a birth into the NCAA tournament.”
Stollsteimer will be joined in the move to Decatur by his wife Kathy, son Donovan, age 7, and daughter Katarina, age 5.