The University of Mississippi Athletics
Steve Holeman Receives Contract Extension
3/10/2010 | Soccer
OXFORD, Miss. - After leading Ole Miss to its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009, head soccer coach Steve Holeman has recently agreed to terms for a new four-year contract, pending approval of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.
This past fall, Holeman coached the Rebels to a 13-6-2 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Portland Regional, where they dropped a tightly contested 1-0 match to Washington. They completed the year with the fourth-most wins in a season in program history after finishing third overall in the Southeastern Conference with a 7-2-2 league record.
The 2009 squad also featured a pair of All-SEC and All-District selections in seniors Danielle Johnson and Hannah Weatherly, while the team earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award for maintaining a 3.0 or higher grade point average.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my career at such an amazing University as Ole Miss," Holeman said. "I would like to thank Lynnette Johnson, Pete Boone and the entire Ole Miss family for their support. Oxford is one of the greatest towns in America and I am thrilled to have a chance to take this program to new levels of success through 2013."
A Wake Forest graduate, Holeman is the only head coach in program history, establishing women's soccer at Ole Miss in 1995 after doing the same for Auburn the previous year. In 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has amassed 165 career wins, with 124 losses and 31 ties. His 15-year record at Ole Miss is 158-118-28. He is the longest tenured active head soccer coach in the SEC.
"There are not many coaches that can say they built a program from the ground up," said Johnson, Ole Miss' Executive Associate Athletics Director. "Steve is one of those coaches, and our soccer program has been one of the most respected programs during his tenure. We look forward to the next four years."
In addition to the four NCAA Tournament appearances, Ole Miss has won three SEC Western Division titles and made an appearance in the SEC Tournament Finals in 1999. The four NCAA Tournament appearances include a trip to the second round in 2003 when the Rebels defeated the Texas Longhorns.
Holeman has produced 29 All-SEC selections, and Ole Miss has had at least one all-league player every year since 1996.
In addition to success on the field, Ole Miss players have also been among the nation's elite in their academic success. The Rebels have had eight Academic/Scholar All-America honorees and 33 Academic All-Region selections in program history.
This is not surprising, considering Holeman himself maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA while earning his master's degree in exercise physiology at Auburn, where he was coaching the men's club soccer team and beginning to construct the women's varsity program.
Ole Miss brings back the majority of its 2009 squad for the upcoming season, so Rebel fans should expect more of the same success on the pitch in the years to come under Holeman.
