BUCKHANNON – The West Virginia Wesleyan College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the hiring of Glenn Francis as the next Head Men’s Soccer Coach.
 
Francis has a long history of accomplishments as a coach and player beginning with a list of accolades as a student-athlete for the Mercyhurst University Lakers. He was named First-Team All-American in 1996, GLIAC Player of the Year (’96, ’97), First-Team All-Conference (’95, ’96, ’97) and First-Team Mid-Atlantic Region (’95, ’96). In recognition for his athletic endeavors at Mercyhurst, he was inducted into the Lakers Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009, the first men’s soccer player to receive this honor.
 
His coaching career began in 2003 when he came to Wesleyan as the assistant men’s soccer coach for legendary Gavin Donaldson. Then in 2005, Francis was named as the Bobcats’ Head Women’s Soccer Coach and in his six-year tenure, he turned the program around to claim the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) Championship three straight seasons from 2007 through 2009. He was named WVIAC Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
 
“Once the opportunity arose to become the head men’s coach at Wesleyan, I jumped on the chance,” Francis said. “The men’s soccer program is so rich in history that you would be foolish not to want to be a part of such a program. Plus, I am not a stranger to the school or the soccer program. I started my coaching career under the legendary coach Gavin Donaldson back in 2003. I am not coming back to replace coach Donaldson; that is a shoe that I cannot fill. I want to continue to build on the foundation that he has laid.”
 
Francis went on to head coach the Ashland University women’s soccer team (2010-13) where he took the Eagles to its first ever conference championship in 2011. He also spent four years as the head coach of the California University of Pennsylvania women’s soccer program from 2014-17.      
 
“I have been out of collegiate athletics for the past six years,” Francis added. “But I promise you that the passion for coaching, mentoring and developing young men into adults burns deeper than ever before.”
 
As a life-long learner, Francis obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Computer Information Systems from Mercyhurst in 1998, a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Wesleyan in 2006 and Masters in Sports Management from West Virginia University in 2013.
 
Francis is married to Kim and has four children: Kiana (22), Alayna (19), Isaiah (18) and Jeremiah (16).