Robert Spain To Take Over Men's Soccer Program

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Huntingdon College Athletics has announced the hiring of Robert Spain as the new Head Men's Soccer Coach.

Native to Alexander City, Alabama, Spain came to Huntingdon as a freshman in 2005, but would go on to play at the University of Charleston, a NCAA Division II institution shortly thereafter.

As a player, Robert played a major role in redefining the success of the program in Charleston, serving as the team's captain when the Golden Eagles snapped a 30-match winless streak in 2008, before reaching the NCAA Elite Eight in 2009 with a 19-4 record. 

Graduating in 2010 with a Bachelor's degree in Sports Administration, Spain would go on to work for the LA Galaxy of the MLS as an account executive before taking the helm at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg's men's soccer program in 2014. While there, Spain inherited a team that finished the 2013 season with a 3-16 record, and successfully orchestrated a 12-7-1 record in the 2014 season. 

In 2015, Robert would make the jump to Division I, serving as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois University. Similar to his time in Greensburg, Spain would assist a rapid turnaround of the Huskies' program, as the team went from a 3-9-5 record in 2014 to a 7-7-1 record in 2015. As the assistant coach at NIU, he was largely responsible for goalkeeper training, scouting presentations, and travel accommodations, all while serving as the Director of Coaching for the program's internal youth soccer club, NIFC.

Spain would make another move in 2016, this time to Duquesne University, to serve as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Just as Spain's prior two programs had done, the Dukes made an immediate jump in success, climbing from 6-10-2 to 8-5-5, reaching a Top-25 national rank in the process. As the recruiting coordinator, Spain successfully signed three top-150 recruits in the 2017 class.

From 2017-2018, Spain's coaching career would go on pause, as Robert was named the Head Academy Scout for Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. While in Columbus, Robert spearheaded the implementation of a formal academy scouting department that aimed to find young professional players. In this role, he managed to identify 18 Crew players that were called into USYNT(U.S. Soccer National Team) camps and worked with over a dozen athletes who signed MLS pro contracts.

Following his brief stint with the Crew, Spain would return to coaching in 2019, serving as the Head Coach at Lincoln Memorial University for two seasons. He would eventually return to the Crew in 2022, serving as the program's Technical Director for Youth Partnerships. As director, the youth partnerships program grew from zero to 32 partner clubs, totaling over 20,000 youth players.

"Robert's experience at every level of soccer, along with his detailed approach to every facet of managing a program make him the best person to lead the next chapter for Huntingdon men's soccer," shared Director of Athletics Eric Levanda. "He has previous familiarity as a student with the college and knowledge of the history of the program and a hunger to direct it, which is an endearing component that truly distinguished him.  We are excited to welcome him back to campus".

" There was tremendous interest in this job, and I am grateful to our Athletic Director Eric Levanda for the excellent job he did in leading this search," Huntingdon President Dr. Anthony Leigh shared. "It was important to me that we identify a proven winner, and a person who understands and respects the NCAA Division III model and Huntingdon's unique pre-professional college identity. I am inspired by Robert Spain's passion for soccer, and I am excited to see him bring his wisdom and energy back to his Alabama home to create a winning culture for Huntingdon soccer".

"I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to come back home to Alabama and lead the Huntingdon Men's Soccer program," said Spain. "I'd like to thank Dr. Anthony Leigh, Jay Dorman and Eric Levanda for their hospitality and transparency throughout this process and for believing that we can build a successful program together.  I feel like this is such a rare full-circle opportunity in life not only for my family, but also from a soccer perspective with this unique opportunity to work with players that share a similar background. I also want to take a moment to thank Issa Tall, Marc Nicholls and Dante Washington from the Columbus Crew for their support in making this move.  I've learned so much over my five seasons with the Crew and am so fortunate to be able to bring those lessons home to Alabama and the Huntingdon Men's Soccer program."

The Hawks 2025 season-opener is currently slated for August 30th at home against Warren Wilson.