2013-Spring-DU-Magazine

AThLETICS UpDATE
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CHASE BROOKS NAMED MEN’S SOCCER COACH
Chase Brooks, who led Niagara University to an NCAA
Championship appearance last season, has been named
head coach of the Duquesne men’s soccer program. Brooks
is the fourth coach in the history of the program, which
began play at the club level in 1994, before moving to the
Division I level the following year.
“We are very excited about the hiring of Chase Brooks
as our new men’s soccer coach,” says Director of Athletics
Greg Amodio. “He has an impressive track record from his
time as the top assistant at Dayton to his recent success as a
head coach at Niagara. His familiarity with the Atlantic 10
Conference will be beneficial to the program.”
Brooks spent two seasons as the head coach at Niagara,
where he guided the Purple Eagles to a 13-2-4 record in
2012, along with the school’s first Metro Atlantic Athletic
Association Championship and NCAA Tournament
appearance. In his two seasons, the 2012 NSCAA North
Atlantic Coach of the Year posted a career record of 22-6-9.
The Purple Eagles also excelled academically during
Brooks’ tenure, with 10 players earning MAAC All-
Academic Team honors in 2012 and eight in 2011. Niagara
was also recognized by the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America (NSCAA) with the Team Academic
Award both years.
ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE TO
HAVE A NEW LOOK IN 2013-14
34 DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE Spring ‘13
“I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to lead the
Duquesne men’s soccer program forward,” says Brooks. “This
is a program that is poised to take the next step on to the
national scene and we will work hard every day to make that
happen.”
Before Niagara, Brooks spent four seasons as the top
assistant coach for the Dayton Flyers men’s program, where
his main focus was on recruiting scheduling, travel and player
development, as well as serving as co-director of the UD
Soccer Academy. He helped the Flyers win the 2008 Atlantic
10 Tournament, which was UD’s first championship in 10
years. Dayton went 15-4-3 in 2008 in earning the school’s first
NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship bid. The Flyers finished
the season ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas Middle
Atlantic regional rankings and No. 19 in the national poll.
Brooks, who earned a master’s degree in sports
management while serving as an assistant coach at Northern
Illinois University for two years, has also earned an Advanced
National License from the NSCAA in 2005, after earning an
NSCAA National License Distinguished Pass in 2004. He also
holds a USSF “B” License.
The Ft. Myers, Fla., native is a graduate of Eckerd College,
where he was a standout member of the soccer team. Brooks
and his wife, Sarah, have a daughter named Kennedy.
The Atlantic 10 Conference—home to Duquesne’s varsity athletics programs for
36 seasons—will have a new look in 2013-14 with the addition of George Mason
University.
The Patriots, formerly of the Colonial Athletic Association, formally accepted an invitation
to join the Atlantic 10 on March 25 and will officially become a full-time conference member on
July 1, 2013.
The addition of George Mason, located in Fairfax, Va., strengthens the Atlantic 10’s presence
in the Washington, D.C., metro area, the eighth largest media market in the country. The Atlantic 10 holds one of the most
impressive media footprints in all of Division I. The addition of George Mason means there are eight A-10 schools located
in the top 25 media markets in the country, and every institution is located in the top 65 markets.
The Atlantic 10 will compete as a 13-team conference in 2013-14, consisting of Duquesne, Dayton (Dayton, Ohio),
Fordham (Bronx, N.Y.), George Mason (Fairfax, Va.), George Washington (Washington, D.C.), La Salle (Philadelphia, Pa.),
Massachusetts (Amherst, Mass.), Rhode Island (Kingston, R.I.), Richmond (Richmond, Va.), St. Bonaventure (Allegany,
N.Y.), Saint Joseph’s (Philadelphia, Pa.), Saint Louis (St. Louis, Mo.) and VCU (Richmond, Va.).