CINCINNATI—Longtime University of Indianapolis men's soccer head coach John Higgins has accepted the head job at Xavier University, it was announced Monday. A two-time graduate of UIndy and former standout student-athlete for the Greyhounds, Higgins compiled a 150-56-29 (.700) record in 12 seasons at his alma mater and will depart as the program's all-time winningest coach.
 
"John is an incredible person and coach, and he has made a huge impact on the soccer program and Athletic Department at UIndy," said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Young. "He is caring, creative and innovative and will make a wonderful addition at Xavier. He will be greatly missed at UIndy and we wish him all the very best."
 
In a dozen years at the helm, Higgins led the Greyhounds to two GLVC championships, five NCAA tournament berths and Midwest Region titles in both 2019 and 2021. The Greyhounds also made back-to-back appearances in the national semifinals, finished with an impressive 31-1-7 record his final two seasons.
 
All told, Higgins coached 62 All-GLVC honorees, 12 All-Midwest Region recipients, four All-Americans and seven Academic All-Americans in 12 seasons as the UIndy head coach.
 

A MESSAGE FROM COACH HIGGINS
"I'm going to miss UIndy; I spent nearly half my life there, which is crazy to think about. And I'm going to miss the people there for sure. I want to give a special thanks to Sue Willy (former UIndy VP for Intercollegiate Athletics) for taking a chance on me as a young coach. I was 25 when I got the head coaching job, but I was really only three semesters out from playing so it was a massive risk that she took with me at the time, and it was great to have her as a mentor through the time and going forward.
 
"Also, I'd like to give a big thanks to Scott Young as well. He was working in facilities at that time and moved to compliance. He was always a guy I could lean on. He thoroughly deserved the athletic director position and I loved working under him. It will be really difficult for me to leave him because he's a fantastic leader and a guy I consider to be a friend of mine.
 
"It is certainly really difficult to leave; I never ever, you know, tried to leave UIndy, but this opportunity is just such a great one for me and my family that it was too good to turn down.
 
"There are loads and loads of people that I'd like to thank and I'd hate to leave somebody out, but I want to give a huge thanks to (Senior Associate Athletics Director) Jackie Paquette and all that she's done for men's soccer over the years that I've been the head coach. I think we built a great culture here within the men's soccer program and certainly she was a big part of it because she cares so much about the student-athletes.
 
"So it certainly breaks my heart to leave UIndy, but I know I'm leaving it better than I found it, and I know it's going to continue to be one of the premier programs in Division II. I'm proud of that and I'm going to continue to always support UIndy and be a big fan and be a very proud alum and continue to come back to the University to connect with men's soccer players and the staff."