Anson Dorrance

Albert Anson Dorrance IV[1] (born April 9, 1951) is an American soccer coach. He is currently 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. Under Dorrance's leadership, the Tar Heels have won 21 of the 31 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships. The Tar Heels' record under Dorrance stood at 809-67-36 (.907 winning percentage) over 33 seasons at the end of the 2017 season. He has led his team to a 101-game unbeaten streak and coached 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 seven times (1982, 1986, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006) and as the Men's Soccer Coach of the Year in 1987. On March 10, 2008 Dorrance was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.[2]

Anson Dorrance
Dorrance during the final of the 2006 Women's College Cup
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamNorth Carolina
ConferenceACC
Record809-67-36 (.907)
Biographical details
Born (1951-04-09) April 9, 1951
Bombay, India
Playing career
1970–1974North Carolina
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1979–presentNorth Carolina women
1976–1988North Carolina men
1986–1994United States
Head coaching record
Overall1043-140-63 (NCAA), 66-22-5 (USWNT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
21x NCAA Division I Tournament Championship (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012)
22x ACC Tournament Championship (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2017, 2019)
22x ACC Regular Season Championship (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2017, 2019)
Women's World Cup (1991)
Awards
7x National Coach of the Year (1982, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006)
12x ACC Coach of the Year (1982, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2018, 2019). North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame (2002). North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2005). National Soccer Hall of Fame (2008). United Soccer Coaches’ Hall of Fame (2018).

Early life

Dorrance was born in Bombay, India on April 9, 1951, the son of an American oil executive. He spent his youth moving with his family throughout Europe and Africa. Of all the places he lived, three had particular influences on his later life. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia he met his future wife, M'Liss Gary, the daughter of the U.S. Air Force attache to Ethiopia. He attributes his love of soccer to his years living in Kenya and finally, he gained his education from the boarding school, Villa St. Jean International School, in Fribourg, Switzerland from which he graduated in 1969.

After graduating from Villa St. Jean, he moved to the United States and attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas. He transferred after the fall term to the University of North Carolina. His love of soccer led him to walk onto the school's soccer team, then coached by Marvin Allen, where he was a three time All-ACC player. In 1974, he graduated with a B.A. in English and Philosophy. That year he also married his childhood sweetheart, M'Liss Gary.

Under the influence of his father, Dorrance entered North Carolina Central University Law School in 1976, later transferring to the University of North Carolina School of Law. That same year, Coach Allen convinced Dorrance to succeed him as the UNC men's soccer coach. From 1977 until 1988 Dorrance compiled a 175–65–21 (.708) record with the team. His greatest success with the men's team came in 1987 when he led them to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship. They beat North Carolina State University 3-2 winning their first ACC tournament. They also went to the NCAA Final Four in 1987 losing to Clemson University 4-1 in the semi final game.[3] That same year he also won the NCAA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year.[4]

UNC women's soccer team
Further information: North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer

In 1979 UNC expanded Dorrance's duties to include the newly established women's team as well as the men's soccer team. It was this event which moved Dorrance into the limelight. At this time, the NCAA did not have a women's soccer championship. When the NCAA showed no interest in establishing one, Dorrance and University of Colorado coach, Chris Lidstone, approached the AIAW, who were receptive to the idea.[5] Within two years of the start of the program, Dorrance had guided the Tar Heels to the 1981 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) title. After the AIAW led the way, the NCAA finally recognized women's soccer as an inter-collegiate sport and Dorrance's teams proceeded to dominate the sport. His teams won 12 of the first 13 NCAA championships (1982–1984, 1986–1994). After winning the 2012 NCAA championship, the Tar Heels have claimed a total of 23 national championships and 22 of the 37 NCAA championships.

Dorrance Field at UNC is named after Anson Dorrance.

Dorrance's success comes from several interrelated attributes. First, he has an eye for recruiting outstanding talent.[6] Related to that is his emphasis on competitiveness. He noted early in his time as a women's coach that women seemed to have an inhibition against open competition. He decided to develop an atmosphere at UNC in which women were rewarded for having an aggressive desire to win. Finally, he noted from his work with both the men's and women's teams that women tended to play best in an atmosphere which focused on relationships. Dorrance was able to bring out his players' aggressiveness and competitiveness while also fostering an almost family sense of the team.[7] Regarding the aggressiveness, Santa Clara University women's soccer coach Jerry Smith noted in a 1998 Sports Illustrated article, "When you watch them, you can see the edge they have. I'll go beyond aggressiveness. It's meanness. Anson has found a way to bring that out of his players." Mia Hamm added in the same article, "I grew up always good at sports, but being a girl, I was never allowed to feel as good about it as guys were. My toughness wasn't celebrated. But then I got to the University of North Carolina, and it was O.K. to want to be the best."[8] Anson Dorrance was honored with his name replaced the soccer stadium which was known as Fetzer field. It is now named Dorrance field.[9]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
North Carolina (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1979–present)
1979 North Carolina 10–2–0–––
1980 North Carolina 21–5–0––AIAW Semifinals
1981 North Carolina 23–0–0––AIAW Champions
1982 North Carolina 19–2–0––NCAA Champions
1983 North Carolina 19–1–0––NCAA Champions
1984 North Carolina 24–0–1–-NCAA Champions
1985 North Carolina 18–2–1–-NCAA Runner Up
1986 North Carolina 24–0–1–-NCAA Champions
1987 North Carolina 23–0–13–0–01stNCAA Champions
1988 North Carolina 18–0–31–0–1ACC Runner UpNCAA Champions
1989 North Carolina 24–0–14–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
1990 North Carolina 20–1–14–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
1991 North Carolina 24–0–04–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
1992 North Carolina 25–0–04–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
1993 North Carolina 23–0–04–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
1994 North Carolina 25–1–15–1–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
1995 North Carolina 25–1–07–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Semifinals
1996 North Carolina 25–1–07–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
1997 North Carolina 27–0–17–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
1998 North Carolina 25–1–07–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Runner Up
1999 North Carolina 24–2–07–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
2000 North Carolina 21–3–04–3–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
2001 North Carolina 24–1–07–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Runner Up
2002 North Carolina 21–2–44–1–2ACC ChampionsNCAA Semifinals
2003 North Carolina 27–0–07–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
2004 North Carolina 20–1–29–0–0ACC Runner UpNCAA Third Round
2005 North Carolina 23–1–19–1–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Quarterfinals
2006 North Carolina 27–1–010–0–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
2007 North Carolina 19–4–19–1–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Third Round
2008 North Carolina 25–1–29–0–1ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
2009 North Carolina 23–3–19–3–0ACC ChampionsNCAA Champions
2010 North Carolina 19–3–29–3–0ACC SemifinalsNCAA Third Round
2011 North Carolina 13–5–26–3–1ACC QuarterfinalsNCAA Third Round
2012 North Carolina 15–5–26–3–1ACC QuarterfinalsNCAA Champions
2013 North Carolina 20-5-010-3-0ACC SemifinalsNCAA Quarterfinals
2014 North Carolina 14-4-29-0–1ACC SemifinalsNCAA Third Round
2015 North Carolina 15–5–17-3-0ACC FinalistNCAA Second Round
2016 North Carolina 17-4-36–2-2ACC FinalistNCAA Semifinals
2017 North Carolina 17-3–28-0-2ACC ChampionsNCAA Third Round
2018 North Carolina 21-4–210-0-0ACC Runner UpNCAA Runner Up
2019 North Carolina 24-1–29-0-1ACC ChampionsNCAA Runner Up
North Carolina: 871–75–42218–26–12
Total:1043–140–63

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

National team coach

His success at North Carolina led to the United States Soccer Federation hiring Dorrance as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team in 1986. In taking the job Dorrance delivered a letter containing a stark warning to the players he inherited: "If you don't come in fit, I will cut you!"[10] He successfully juggled his duties to both the national team and UNC. In one extreme case, Dorrance left Assistant Coach Bill Palladino to lead UNC to a championship victory in the 1991 NCAA tournament while he led the US Women to a World Cup championship. In that tournament, 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. He has coached some of the finest players in women's soccer history including Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly.

In May 2005 Dorrance was elected as a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. In February 2016 he received the Werner Fricker Builder Award, a special award named after Werner Fricker.[9]

Court cases

In 1998 a former player, Melissa Jennings, sued Dorrance for sexual harassment. He had just cut her from the team. Initially, it appeared the suit was retaliation against Dorrance. However, Debbie Keller Hill, a former team captain, joined the suit. 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."[11] In April 2006 a three judge federal appeals panel voted to not reverse the judgement (2–1).[12] Jennings appealed to the full court with oral arguments taking place in October 2006.[13] Hill had earlier settled with the university for $70,000.[14] The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, after a rehearing by the full court, vacated summary judgment for defendants in Jennings' lawsuit. The April 9, 2007 decision allowed Jennings to proceed on her Title IX claim and on sexual harassment civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Dorrance and a university official. Judge M. Blane Michael wrote in the 4th Circuit Court's majority opinion that Dorrance's conduct "went far beyond simple teasing and qualified as sexual harassment."[12]

On October 1, 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by the state Attorney General's Office for the court to hear a nine-year-old sexual harassment suit against UNC-Chapel Hill and its women's soccer coach, Anson Dorrance.

The refusal by the Supreme Court to hear the case meant that the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling from 2007 would stand and the case could proceed to trial. On January 14, 2008 the suit was settled out of court and Melissa Jennings will receive $385,000. The university also will review its sexual harassment policies and procedures, and bring in an outside law professor to help. The coach issued a written apology to the player, her family, and team members saying that his comments were inappropriate.[15]

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See also
  • List of college women's soccer coaches with 250 wins

References
  1. https://goheels.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1791&path=wsoc
  2. "Perez and Dorrance elected to Hall of Fame". Fox Sports. 2008-03-10. Archived from the original (– Scholar search) on March 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-11. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Tar Heels Soccer Media Guide
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-03-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Explaining variation in the Sex Composition of Coaches for Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Teams" (PDF).
  6. "Anson Dorrance". Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  7. "Numbers tell only half the story of UNC soccer coach's legacy".
  8. Anson Dorrance, the legendary North Carolina women's soccer coach, is sure he understands what makes a female athlete tick, and he has 15 national titles to prove it. So why are two former Tar Heels suing him for sexual harassment?
  9. U.S. Soccer Names Anson Dorrance 2016 Werner Fricker Builder Award Winner
  10. Lisi 2010, p. 6
  11. ESPN – Six-year-old suit dismissed days before trial – College Sports
  12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2006-11-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. newsobserver.com | Suit against coach revived Archived July 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  14. "Harassment Case Involving Coach Settled". The New York Times. March 25, 2004. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  15. Sexual harassment suit settled, North Carolina's Dorrance can move on – World Soccer – Yahoo! Sports Archived January 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography
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