UW-Milwaukee men's soccer coach Louis Bennett resigns
Dec. 7, 2005
Milwaukee, Wis. - Louis Bennett has resigned as the head men's soccer coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to become the head coach at crosstown rival Marquette.
Bennett has been the head coach at UWM for 10 seasons, leading the Panthers to the last five NCAA Tournaments. This past season, UWM was eliminated in the second round of the tournament by New Mexico, which has advanced to the national semifinals.
"Louis Bennett is a quality individual and a very successful head men's soccer coach. It has been a pleasure working with him these past 10 years. Louis' career has always been guided by what he feels is best for his family and that certainly played a role in his decision to make this career move," UWM Athletic Director Bud Haidet said.
"I've always said success is a double-edged sword. We enjoy the successes but know, as all mid-major programs know, retention of successful coaches can be near impossible in some cases. But, that success also makes your job a very attractive one and I am confident we will receive interest from a number of highly-qualified individuals who want to take this program to yet another level of success."
Bennett posted a 136-63-17 (.669 percentage) ledger in his ten-year career at UWM, including a 14-4-5 mark this season. The highlight of his tenure came in 2002 when the Panthers posted a program-best 19-2-1 overall record. Over the last five seasons, UWM boats an 81-22-10 (.761) line.
UW-Milwaukee is one of only 14 schools to qualify for each of the last five NCAA tournaments and only six other programs can claim victories in each of the last four national summits. The latter achievement puts UWM in an elite group which also includes the University of California, the University of California-Santa Barbara, the University of Connecticut, Creighton University, the University of Maryland, and St. John's University.
UWM will begin a search for a new head coach immediately.
Louis Bennett bio (entering 2005 season)
