Gavin McKinney knows how to rebuild a college soccer program that has been struggling, and the Canada native will get a chance to do that as the new women’s coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
UTC on Tuesday announced the hiring of McKinney to replace J.D. Kyzer, who resigned last month after 15 seasons.
“The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a great school,” McKinney said Tuesday in a phone interview, “and I think Chattanooga is seen as one of the best cities in Tennessee and within the Southeast.
“Soccer in the area is booming. Both within youth soccer and the semipro teams they have there make it a great soccer city. So there was a lot to attract me to UTC.”
McKinney comes to UTC from NAIA program Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn., where he had a record of 71-26-3 in five seasons, including three consecutive trips to the NAIA Sweet 16 and a run to the final eight this past season.