12 / 62
COACHING STAFF
COACHING STAFF
Rich Posipanko enters his 27th year at
Winthrop and 37th season as a head coach
for his career in 2015
For the past twenty-six seasons, the
Eagles have averaged over 10 wins per
season in the toughest region in the Nation.
The Eagles were 15-7-1 in 2002 that led
to a regular season and tournament Big
South championship and NCAA College
Cup South Region appearance. In 2005,
the Eagles finished 12-8-1 and finished as
the Big South Runner-Up for the third time
under Posipanko and fifth time overall. In
2006 the Eagles once again claimed the
Big South regular season and tournament
championship and advanced to the NCAA
College Cup South Atlantic Regional with
a 15-3-4 record. In 2008 the Eagles were
again Big South Regular Season and
Tournament Champions with a record of
15-6-1.
Posipanko was also selected Big
South Coach of the Year for the third time
and led his team back to the NCAA College
Cup in 2008. In 2009 the Eagles again
were Big South Champions and made it
back to the NCAA College Cup with an
11-6-4 record. In 2012, the Eagles once
again won the Big South Championship
and advanced to the second round of the
NCAA College Cup with a record of 12-
8-2. They also finished the 2012 season
ranked in all three polls. The Eagles have
also been successful in the classroom
as well, receiving the NSCAA Academic
Award seven out of the past eight years for
receiving a 3.0 Team GPA or better.
The Levittown, Pennsylvania, native
will look to mold a group of veterans and
talented newcomers into a solid team this
year which hopefully will make a run at the
conference championship and a trip back
to the NCAA College Cup. The 1991, 2006
& 2008 Big South Conference Coach of
the Year has compiled a career record of
381-263-57 and has a Winthrop mark of
264-214-35. Posipanko is currently ranked
7th among NCAA Division I active coaches
in total victories. He is also ranked 21st
on the All-Time list for victories. In 2002 he
became the winningest coach in Winthrop
history with his 134th win. Posipanko is
also the winningest coach in Longwood
University history with 117 wins and is the
All-Time winningest coach in Big South
Conference history with 263 total victories.
During the 2007 season Posipanko reached
the 300 career win mark and joined an elite
group of only 52 coaches in NCAA history
(all divisions) and 25 coaches at the Div. I
level to reach this plateau.
Before coming to Winthrop, Posipanko
spent 10 successful years as head coach of
Longwood University in Virginia where he
compiled a record of 117-49-21. During his
last seven years at “The Wood”, Posipanko
guided his squads to the NCAA Division II
top 20 ranking and also developed seven
All-Americans.
Posipanko better known as “Gaffer”
by his players and peers has had a long
list of successes through his years of
coaching. Prior to his position at Longwood,
Posipanko served as the assistant coach
at College of New Jersey (formally known
as Trenton State College) for three years.
He also coached the Virginia State Team
in the Olympic Development Program from
1986-1989. While at Longwood, Posipanko
was honored three times — 1982, 1984,
and 1986 — as the Virginia Coach of the
Year and in 1982 and 1984 he was tabbed
Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year.
In addition to his college coaching
experience, Posipanko coached
professionally serving as assistant coach of
the Houston Dynamos in the United States
Soccer League in 1985.
Posipanko is dedicated to soccer
and spends much of his free time trying to
improve the college game and give back
to the local community with many summer
soccer camps and clinics. He has served
on numerous committees including the
NCAA Academic All-American Selection
Committee; chair of the Intercollegiate
Soccer Association of America South Rating
Board; chair of the NCAA Soccer Selection
Committee for the south region; President
of the Virginia Intercollegiate Soccer
Association; and President of the Big South
Conference Soccer Coaches.
Posipanko has helped raise over
$205,000 for Cancer Research over the
past six years through his annual Kicks
Against Cancer Game, Champions Night
and now a new group he is associated with
called The Carolinas Kickin It Challenge.
He is also very active on the
fundraising front. He has raised over
$250,000 over the years for the soccer
program including many of the upgrades to
Eagle Field, enhanced scholarship funding
and helped increase the operational budget.
He also started the Manchester Cup each
spring which has become one of the top
college showcases in the nation drawing
huge crowds.
During his 36 years as a collegiate
head coach he’s had 156 All-Conference
players, 64 All-Region selections, 14 All-
Americans, four Olympic team players,
four Freshmen of the Year, three Player
of the Year, 34 Academic All-Americans,
six national team members and a Lowes
Senior Award Top 10 finalist and Walter
Byers Scholarship Finalist. Also one Walter
Byers Scholarship Winner. Over the years
16 of his players have also gone on to play
in the professional ranks.
A 1974 graduate of Slippery Rock
University with a degree in health and
physical education, Posipanko earned his
master’s degree in the same field with a
concentration in administration and athletic
management in 1979 from the College of
New Jersey (Trenton State College). He
is married to the former Gayle Keener of
Amelia, VA.