The University of Akron Athletics
Porter Awarded New Five-Year Contract
December 11 | Men's Soccer
University of Akron men's soccer head coach Caleb
Porter, the MAC Coach of the Year for 2007 and 2008, has been
awarded a new five-year contract, UA athletics director
Mack Rhoades announced Thursday.
"It is a good day for the Akron men's soccer program," Rhoades
said. "Coach Porter is very well deserving of this new contract. He
inherited a storied program that has experienced much success and,
in his three years, has continued to build upon that
tradition."
The recent agreement, effective March 1, 2009, follows one of the
most successful seasons in program history and will replace the
previous contract extension granted to Porter last June.
"Coach Porter truly cares about the total well being of his
student-athletes and demands excellence from them in all areas of
their lives," Rhoades continued. "He not only asks this of his
players, but leads by example. I am thrilled that the University
and Caleb are committed to the bright future of this program for
years to come and that Caleb, (wife) Andrea and (son) Colin will
remain a part of the Zips' family."
The Zips' soccer program has reached unprecedented heights and
established its national presence under Porter's guidance,
culminating with the school's fourth trip to the Sweet 16 of the
NCAA Tournament this past fall.
"First of all, I want to thank our president Dr. Luis
Proenza, director of athletics Mack
Rhoades and senior associate athletics director
Mary Lu Gribschaw for their tremendous commitment
to the Akron soccer program," Porter said. "They have placed a high
priority on maintaining a nationally competitive soccer program and
I appreciate their support of my goals. I would not be here if it
wasn't for them and they have been instrumental to growth of the
program."
Defensive efficiency has been the hallmark of Porter's teams since
arriving on campus in 2006 and the most recent campaign marked a
banner year in that regard as the Zips (17-2-4) set the school
record for goals-against-average (0.45) after allowing just 11
scores in 23 contests.
Akron held its opponents to one or fewer goals in all but one game
in 2008 and finished with 14 shutouts on the season, which is one
shy of the school mark. UA's 17 wins was also the second highest
total on the program's single-season charts.
Furthermore, Akron secured the highest NCAA Tournament seed in
program history with a No. 5 designation this fall and spent nine
of 13 weeks ranked in the top five of the NSCAA/adidas national
poll. Akron also defeated its highest-ranked opponent by knocking
off No. 3 Notre Dame (3-0) in the season opener and shut out
nationally-ranked opponents (Notre Dame and No. 7 Indiana, 0-0) in
consecutive games for the first time.
"Akron soccer is special and has a very rich tradition of
excellence," Porter said. "The alumni over the last 54 years have
left their legacy and paved the way for our current players. My
vision has always been to build on that foundation and drive the
program to a standard where Akron soccer will be a realistic
contender for the national championship each and every year.
"It is pleasing to see this evolution take shape and we will
continue to chase our ultimate goal," Porter added. "My family is
very happy that Akron is their home and I am extremely proud to
continue to lead this program. I look forward to many more years of
pursuing championships and helping student-athletes achieve success
in all aspects of their collegiate experience at the University of
Akron"
Since 2006, Porter's Zips have posted an overall record of 46-11-7
(.773) despite playing a competitive schedule against the best
programs in the country achieving with NCAA RPIs of 46 in 2006, 10
in 2007 and 5 in 2008.
Akron has also continued its dominance of the Mid-American
Conference as Porter has led the Zips to MAC regular-season
championships each year and brought home its second consecutive MAC
tournament crown last month. In all, UA has posted a conference
record of 16-1-1 (.917) since 2006.
Individually speaking, an unparalleled number of performers have
blossomed under Porter's direction as the Zips have produced 26
all-conference honorees since 2006, including 21 first teamers and
the league player of the year all three seasons.
National accolades have also come in abundance during Porter's
regime as the third-year coach has yielded two All-American
honorees (Sinisa Ubiparipovic in 2006 and Corey
Sipos in 2007) and six NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region performers.
In addition, Ubiparipovic was a third-round selection of the New
York Red Bull in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, becoming the first Akron
player taken.
Porter and his staff have also taken the recruitment game to an all
new level at UA by securing the No. 5 ranked classes in the nation
in 2007 and again in 2008.
The impact of these classes have been both immediate and immense as
Porter's first class produced current Hermann Trophy finalist and
the nation's scoring leader Steve
Zakuani, and all-conference first team honorees Anthony
Ampaipitakwong and Blair Gavin. Zakuani was also recently
named Top Drawer Soccer's Player of the Season and the MAC's Player
of the Year, while Ampaipitakwong was a freshman All-American and
Gavin was selected for the U.S. U20 national team.
Furthermore, two defenders who took a redshirt in 2007 – Matt
Dagilis (23 starts) and Aaron
Henkle (17 appearances, nine starts) – played major roles
in the Zips' record-breaking season.
The '08 class produced Akron's second consecutive MAC Newcomer of
the Year recipient in Darlington Nagbe and freshman All-American
candidate Kofi Sarkodie. Both were also first team
all-conference selections and received Top Drawer Soccer
all-freshman honors. In all, eight players secured in the past two
recruiting classes started at least eight games for UA in 2008.
The Zips have also excelled in the classroom under Porter, as six
players have been named to the all-conference academic team,
including Elliot Bradbrook, who was named to the Academic
All-America second team in 2007. With a team GPA of 3.11 for the
2007-08 school year, Akron was presented with the NSCAA team
academic award Wednesday.
