Missouri soccer coach Bryan Blitz is stepping away from the program that he built.
The only head coach in program history, Blitz cited time with family as the primary reason for his leaving. After a win against Kansas last night to cap off his 25th season as head coach, Blitz touts the 5th longest tenure of any Mizzou coach in history.
Mizzou soccer has no history without Bryan Blitz in it, as he founded the program himself in 1996. Prior to his move to Missouri, Blitz coached for five seasons at Butler.
The win on Saturday put him just one win short of 300 for his coaching across both universities. In his time at Mizzou, the program boasts a record of 254-216-39.
With Blitz at the helm in 2012, the Missouri squad was ranked 11th in the nation, the highest in program history. That same year, Mizzou made it to the NCAA tournament, a feat the program has achieved seven times during his tenure.
His time as a coach at two universities led to four separate Coach of the Year honors in three different leagues, including winning SEC Coach of the Year with Mizzou in 2015. The success he has found in the head coach role culminated in Blitz being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame this spring.
“Working with young people, they inspire me,” Blitz said in his Missouri Sports Hall of Fame induction profile. “It’s been an honor to help be a part of young people’s life journeys.”
True to his word, Blitz has overseen the first-team all-conference honors of 10 different players in either the Big 12 or SEC conferences.
“I believe that this is one of the best jobs in the country,” Blitz said in a press release Sunday. “I am excited to watch how far the next coach can take the program and I look forward to becoming Mizzou Soccer’s new super fan.”
Missouri’s Athletic Director Jim Sterk announced that the search for Blitz’s replacement will start immediately.
_Edited by Jack Soble | jsoble@themaneater.com_