UIndy Athletics

As the head coach to one of the most successful teams in Division II, UIndy alumnus John Higgins wrapped up his 12th season as Greyhound head coach in 2021. As the winningest coach in program history, Higgins has compiled a 150-56-29 overall record and a 110-43-20 mark in GLVC play.

Higgins guided the to a another stellar campaign in 2021, earning a second straight* Midwest Region title and national semifinal appearance. The captured the GLVC regular season, GLVC Tournament and regional crowns in the same season for the first time in program history before making another deep NCAA run.

Led by All-Americans Alejandro Steinwascher and Makel Rasheed, the Hounds secured hosting rights for the NCA DII Midwest Regional -- a program first -- and went on top outscore their regional opponents by a combined score of 8-1, including a shutout of Fort Hays State in the regional championship. UIndy later traveled to Colordao Springs, Colo., for the NCAA DII Championships, earning a 1-0 lead in the national semifinal versus fifth-ranked Charleston before ultimately falling in PKs.

Higgins also guided the Greyhounds to a successful-if-not-unique 2019-20 season. Missing out on the NCAA postseason and playing an abbreviated spring schedule due to the pandemic, UIndy compiled a 13-0-4 record to notch the program’s first-ever unbeaten season. Higgins claimed his 100th GLVC victory on April 11 with a 4-0 shutout at home against Lindenwood.  As voted by his peers, Higgins was named the GLVC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, a mantle he would secure again in 2021.

The 2019 season featured a magical NCAA Tournament run that culminated in the Hounds’ first-ever Final Four appearance. Under Higgins’ guidance, UIndy set a program record with 16 wins on the year, including postseason victories over fourth-ranked Lake Erie and No. 17 Maryville on the way to capturing the Midwest Region title and a No. 4 ranking in the final DII coaches poll.

A native of Dunfermline, United Kingdom, Higgins hit the 100-win mark on October 7, 2018. His victories at UIndy have led to two GLVC championships and four NCAA DII Tournament berths.

In his first season as a young head coach back in 2010, Higgins led the Hounds to their first GLVC Tournament title game as the first-ever eighth seed to advance to the conference finals. He was later the GLVC Coach of the Year in 2013 after guiding UIndy to a 12-1-2 conference mark and a share of the league’s regular-season title.

All told, Higgins has coached 62 All-GLVC honorees, 12 All-Midwest Region recipients and four All-Americans.

As a student-athlete at UIndy, Higgins garnered all-conference and all-region accolades as a senior in 2007. He was named to the 2007 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 5 Team and earned Academic All-GLVC honors all four years. In all, Higgins tallied 17 goals and 13 assists in a Greyhound uniform.

Higgins earned his bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from the UIndy in May of 2008. He obtained a master's degree in Curriculum & Instruction from UIndy in 2010.


CAREER COACHING RECORD
 

Year	School	Record	Pct.	Miscellaneous
2010	UIndy	10-8-0	.556	GLVC Tournament runner-up
2011	UIndy	12-5-1	.694	GLVC Tournament appearance
2012	UIndy	7-8-3	.472
2013	UIndy	15-3-3	.786	NCAA Regional appearance
2014	UIndy	12-5-3	.675	GLVC Tournament Champions
2015	UIndy	12-5-3	.675	NCAA Regional appearance
2016	UIndy	10-5-5	.625	GLVC Tournament runner-up
2017	UIndy	13-6-1	.675	NCAA Regional appearance
2018	UIndy	12-4-2	.722	GLVC Tournament appearance
2019	UIndy	16-6-1	.717	NCAA DII Final Four appearance
2020	UIndy	13-0-4*	.882	GLVC Regular Season Champions GLVC Tournament runner-up
2021	UIndy	18-1-3	.886	GLVC Regular Season Champions GLVC Tournament Champions NCAA DII Final Four appearance
Total		150-56-29	.700