A coaching search that took almost two months ended Monday as an assistant coach from Virginia Tech was named the head coach of the Ball State University soccer team.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tom Collins announced the hiring of Michael Lovett, who was an assistant at Virginia Tech the past two seasons, to fill the void left by the departure of former coach Michelle Salmon.
Forward Emily Rein, who will be a senior next year, said the entire team is really excited about the hiring of Lovett.
"[Interim head coach Abby Richter's] done a really good job in spring season but we want to have a head coach and get back to the normalcy," Rein said.
Lovett is the third soccer coach at Ball State since the program was created in 1999.
Ron Rainey, Ball State's first coach, went 70-52-17 in his seven years at Ball State before he took the head coaching position at the University of Iowa.
Salmon, who took the head coaching position at the University of Cincinnati Jan. 10, was 26-9-5 and 17-3-2 in the MAC with two regular-season Mid-American Conference championships in her two years at Ball State.
Lovett, who is from Murray, Ky., said he was very happy to get the job at Ball State.
"I am from the Midwest, wanted to move my family back closer to home than we are now and Ball State is a university I've know about for many years but had never been to until my interview," Lovett said.
Lovett was one of four candidates who were brought to the campus and interviewed for the head coaching job, Associate Athletic Director Karin Lee said.
Lovett said he found the job on the NCAA Web site and applied for it the first day it was posted.
Lee, who supervises soccer, said almost 100 people interviewed for the position.
Lovett's interview and experience working in one of the best soccer conferences in the nation were major factors in the decision to hire him, Lee said.
"I think its a great opportunity," Lee said. "We're excited about having him come here, especially from a high level at Virginia Tech and the Atlantic Coast Conference."
Rein said the team talked to all four candidates before they the decision of whom to hire was made. Lovett stressed academics and communication, she said. Lovett also made a good first impression and was comfortable with the team, she said.
"As a person he seems like somebody who will be a really good support for our team on and off the field," Rein said.
The past two seasons the Cardinals won the MAC regular-season championship. The championships were the first two in the program's history, and the Cardinals became the first team in the MAC to win back-to-back titles.
"I think it's a great team I'm inheriting," Lovett said. "I think it's a great situation coaches don't normally find themselves in."
The Cardinals return 17 letterwinners to the 2008 squad, including eight starters and five All-MAC players.
Rein and goalkeeper Rachael Murphy, both of who were second team All-MAC selections said the new coach means they have to prove themselves again to maintain their positions on the team.
Lovett though said he does not want to disrupt the team chemistry.
"As a coach you always want to evaluate the talent, but my philosophy with this team is 'if it ain't broke don't fix it,'" he said.
Prior to his two seasons at Virginia Tech, Lovett was a high school head coach for a year and was an assistant coach at Murray State University for four years, including six months as the interim head coach. While he was the interim coach, he led the Racers to a 4-1 record during the spring season.
Lovett was in charge of goalkeepers at Virginia Tech. Last season the Hokies allowed 20 goals, which was a school record.
In his final season at Murray State, the Racers allowed 0.93 goals per game.
"I would like to consider myself defensively minded," Lovett said. "If goals aren't scored against you, you're winning."
Murphy said she knew about Lovett prior to his arrival at Ball State because she went to Soccer Plus Goalkeeping School, a camp at which he coached. She said she "is psyched" to have Lovett as her new coach.
"I was very, very excited," Murphy said. "Michael is a tremendous fit for this program."
As for individual performance, Lovett is great because he coaches the same technique as she grew up with, Murphy said.
Lovett said it is phenomenal that he has Murphy returning to anchor the position he is used to coaching. Last season Murphy had a 0.53 goals against average, 0.861 save percentage and 10 shutouts, as the team set a school record with seven shutouts in a row.
Lovett played collegiate soccer as a goalkeeper at the University of South Alabama from 1992-1994. He then played professionally for the Mobile Revelers of the United Soccer League in 1994.
"Playing at the Division I level at college helped me really to grasp what is needed at the Division I level to know what is expected and what is needed to be successful," Lovett said.
Lovett quit playing soccer and dropped out of school when he found out he had a heart murmur, he said. He said he then got a job and got married and has a wife, Patricia, a 10-year-old son, Skylar, and a one-year-old daughter, Sydney.
Lovett returned to school and graduated from Murray State in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in history education and a minor in athletics coaching.
Lovett has earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America, state, regional and national goalkeeping diplomas and an advanced regional diploma. In 2003 he won the National Goalie War, a competition in which soccer goalkeepers compete against one another. Two goalkeepers punt, kick and throw balls at one another and try to score as many goals as possible before the referee's whistle blows.
Murphy and Rein said Lovett's experience, including his coaching in one of the best soccer conferences in the nation, make him a great person to move the Cardinals forward and go for their first MAC tournament championship.
"He's seen and coached at the top level of soccer," Murphy said. "He knows how to get us there."
Michael LovettHometown: Murray, Ky.Experience:
- Coached past two seasons at Virginia Tech as goalkeepers' coach
- Spent four years as assistant coach at Murray State
- Was interim head coach for six months at Murray State
- Played college soccer as goalkeeper at South Alabama
- Played professional soccer for the Mobile Revelers in the United Soccer League
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