Anson Dorrance
Anson Dorrance is the head coach of the women's soccer program at the University of North Carolina. He has one of the most successful coaching records in the history of athletics. The Tar Heels won 18 of the 24 national championships in the history of women's collegiate soccer, all under the leadership of Dorrance. The Lady Tar Heels soccer record under Anson is an amazing 579-26-17 in the 26-year history of the program, or a .945 winning percentage. Other indications of his remarkable success as a women's NCAA soccer coach include an 101 game unbeaten streak and coaching 13 different women to a total of 20 National Player of the Year awards. The NCAA has recognized Dorrance as the Women's Soccer Coach of the Year six times (1982, 1986, 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2003).
Early Career
Dorrance was born in Bombay, India on April 9, 1951 and spent much of his youth moving throughout Europe and Africa with his family. He attributes his love of soccer to his years living in Kenya. In 1976, the University of North Carolina hired Anson Dorrance to succeed Marvin Allen as its men's soccer coach. From 1977 until 1988, Dorrance compiled a 175-65-21 (.708) record. His greatest success with the men's team came in 1987 when he led them to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship and the NCAA Final Four. That year, he also won NCAA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year honors.
UNC Women's Soccer Team
In 1979, UNC expanded Dorrance's duties to include both the men's soccer team as well as the newly established women's team. It was this event which moved Dorrance into the limelight. Within two years, Dorrance had guided his Lady Tar Heels to the 1981 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women title. The next year, the NCAA recognized women's soccer as an inter-collegiate sport and Dorrance's teams proceeded to dominate the sport. His teams won every championship from 1982-1984 and again from 1986-1994. Anson's success came from both his coaching skills as well as his talent for recruiting outstanding talent.
Criticisms and Legal Problems
He has been criticized as a sexist for giving team members bouquets of roses after winning championships, explaining that women were motivated less by a desire for a ring and more by the relationships they had with their team members. He was also sued by two former players, Mellisa Jennings and Debbie Keller Hill, of sexual harrasment. In October 2004, U.S. District Court Judge N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., threw out the six-year lawsuit, stating the "behavior at issue does not constitute severe, pervasive and objectively offensive sexual harassment." Hill had earlier settled with the university for $70,000.
National Team Coach
His success at North Carolina led to the US Soccer Federatation hiring Dorrance as the coach of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team in 1986. He successfully juggled his duties to both the national team and UNC. In 1991, the United States won the first Women's World Cup, held in China. When Dorrance ended his tenure in 1994 with the national team, he had accumulated a record of 66-22-5 (.737) record.
In May 2005, Dorrance was elected as a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.