BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Doug Hess has been named head men's soccer coach at Campbell University, Director of Athletics Stan Williamson announced on Thursday. Hess has spent the last two years at Campbell as assistant coach to Derrick Leeson, who resigned earlier this month.
"My wife, Kristina, and I believe that Campbell is the right fit for us, and the right place to start my head coaching career," said Hess. "It is encouraging to know that all along I have had the support of Coach Leeson and every player on this team. I am very thankful for the two seasons I've spent working with Derrick, who was an ideal mentor for me. I also would like to thank our President, Dr. (Norman A.) Wiggins, and Mr. Williamson for the faith they have shown in appointing me to this position.^"
During Hess' tenure at Campbell, Fighting Camel players have earned all-conference recognition four times and three others have been named to the league's all-freshman unit. Twelve Campbell players have been selected to the Atlantic Sun All-Academic squad over the past two years.
"We have a good core of young players here, but we must not forget the importance of our continued recruiting efforts," said Hess. "I look forward to the future of this program and the opportunity to compete for an Atlantic Sun Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament."
Hess, who will turn 28 in March, played three seasons professionally in the United Soccer Leagues Division 3 Pro League with the Charlotte Eagles and Delaware Wizards. In addition to his duties at Campbell, he also served the last two years as an assistant coach with the 1984 North Carolina Olympic Development State Team.
In addition to his coaching duties at Campbell, Hess also serves as the faculty representative of the Campbell Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter. He has been involved with FCA since 1995.
"We are very excited to have Doug lead our men's soccer program," said Williamson. "He is not only a fantastic young soccer coach, but is a personal of high moral character and integrity."
Prior to joining the Campbell program as assistant coach in the summer of 1999, Hess was an assistant coach at Bucknell University. He also spent a year as an assistant at East Stroudsburg University, where he helped direct the squad to a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title and an NCAA Division II national ranking. He holds the NSCAA Distinguished Advanced and National Diplomas.
Hess played two seasons with the Charlotte Eagles and helped the club to a league quarterfinal finish in 1998 and a semifinal showing in 1999.
Throughout his playing career, Hess became familiar with several former Campbell University standouts. He played with former Camel All-South defender Ricky Mobley on the 1998 Charlotte Eagles squad. While with the Eagles, he also marked former CU all-region forward Brian Hunter, who played two seasons with the Wilmington Hammerheads. Lee Horton, an assistant coach at Campbell in mid-1980s, was an assistant on the '98 Eagles squad. Hess was in the 1996 Umbro Select Senior Bowl with Campbell All-American Toni Siikala, who went on to a four-year professional career.
A 1996 graduate of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, Hess was a three-time all-conference and two-time all-region performer as a sweeper and central midfielder. He was named first-team NCAA Division III All-America by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) as a senior in 1995. He was also chosen as one of 32 players nationally among the NCAA Division I, II and III and the NAIA ranks to participate in the Umbro Senior Select Tournament in 1996.
While at Elizabethtown, Hess led his squad to a pair of Mid-Atlantic Conference championships and to four-straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. He served as team captain as a senior and the squad was nationally-ranked in all four of his varsity campaigns.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., Hess is a 1992 graduate of Commack High School. He earned his B.S. in business administration from Elizabethtown in 1996. Hess is also a 2000 graduate of East Stroudsburg University with a master's of education degree in health and physical education.
He and his wife, Kristina, are proud parents of a newborn daughter, Abigail. The Hess' reside in Buies Creek with their one-year-old St. Bernard, Timberland.
Hess takes over a Campbell program that will play its 40th varsity season during the fall of 2002. After joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1977, the Camels advanced to the semifinal round of their conference tournament every year from 1984-97. Campbell appeared in its league championship match five times in a six-year span from 1991-96. From 1963-76, the team won six district championships and participated in the NAIA National Tournament three times.