South Georgia State hires Morris to lead Lady Hawks Soccer program
South Georgia State College's new head women's soccer coach, Dave Morris, brings with him a reputation as a coach, educator, and program builder with the ability to foster tremendous development in individual student-athletes and in soccer programs. He comes to SGSC after leading Oxford College of Emory University to the 2015 NJCAA National Championship Final, capping a two-year run where the Eagles went 29-3-3. In two years, the Eagles were undefeated against GCAA opponents, despite being a non-scholarship program, and spent six weeks ranked first in the nation.
Morris arrived at Oxford after earning ICAA Coach of the Year honors at NCAA Division II Oakland City University in 2013. Prior to becoming the most successful coach in the history of OCU, he experienced similar program building success at Culver-Stockton (MO) College, Colorado State University – Pueblo, the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, and the University of Wisconsin – Stout. The teams he has coached have been consistently recognized for on field performance earning NCAA rankings, numerous All-Region/All-American selections as well as NCAA statistical awards, community service, and academic excellence with five Academic All Americans, eight Academic All-Region awards, and 15 consecutive NSCAA Team Academic Awards. Prior to stints rebuilding programs at small private colleges, Morris took a Colorado State – Pueblo program coming off consecutive sub-.500 seasons to its best campaign in school history, reaching the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championship game in 2007 as well as sweeping RMAC Player of the Year and Scholar – Athlete of the Year awards while also achieving the program's best overall academic performance ever.
He came to CSU-Pueblo after spending the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach at Wisconsin-Green Bay. Morris was primarily responsible for the defense and goalkeepers for the Division I Fighting Phoenix, as the team posted an 8-7-2 record while limiting opponents to a 1.31 goals against average.
Morris' first stop as a head coach at the collegiate level came at Division III Wisconsin-Stout, turning a struggling soccer program in rural Wisconsin into a perennially ranked contender. He also founded the West Wisconsin Dynamo soccer club, leading them to two state championships, consecutive seasons in the MYSA Premier League (top 6 teams in Minnesota at each age group) and a spot in the USYSA Region II Championship in 2004.
Morris also boasts soccer coaching experience from Frostburg State (Md.), Rockville High School (Md.), and Damascus High School (Md.), making the jump to coaching in college after winning Maryland girls' basketball and boys' soccer state championships in 1996.