After graduating from USC in 1979 , Hankinson 's career as a head coach began at Oglethorpe University . After one season that ended with his team making an appearance as NAIA District Finalists , he moved on to the men 's head coach post at Alabama A&M . In his two seasons at the helm , Hankinson 's sides compiled an impressive 37 – 5 – 4 ( W-L-D ) record and made a pair of appearances in the NCAA Men 's Soccer Championship finishing 3rd in 1980 and 2nd in 1981 . Hankinson soon moved on to DePaul University for the 1982 and 1983 seasons where he helped transition the school 's men 's soccer program into the NCAA Division I ranks . He then took a year off before joining Syracuse University as their men 's head coach in 1985 . From 1985 to 1990 , Hankinson 's teams were 69 – 40 – 18 ( W-L-D ) including a Big East Conference championship in 1985 . Their performance also yielded individual recognition for the coach as he was named Big East Conference '' Coach of the Year '' for 1986 . After a fair amount of success in the collegiate game , Hankinson turned to coaching professional players and from 1990 to 1991 was in the head coach role at UMF Tindastóll in Iceland 's Úrvalsdeild ( First Division ) . He was the first US national to coach in Iceland and in 1991 was awarded the FIFA-VISA Knattspyrnusamband Íslands '' Fair Play Award '' ( aka Háttvísisverðlaun KSÍ ) . Hankinson returned home to the US and in 1992 helped found the Charleston Battery club which competed in the USL ( known then as the United States Interregional Soccer League ( USISL ) ) . While head coach and general manager , Hankinson 's squads reached the league playoffs in 1993 , then returned again in 1994 where they advanced to the semi-finals . As reward for the team 's 1994 success , Hankinson was named USISL '' Coach of the Year '' . He then spent the 1995 season as the general manager of the Raleigh Flyers before joining the nascent MLS as their first Director of Player Development . From 1996 to 1998 Hankinson led scouting and player development as the league worked to establish itself as both a viable enterprise and the top level of soccer in the US . During this same period , Hankinson was the head coach for Nike Project-40 where he worked with future MLS stars such as Ben Olson and soon-to-be US national team regulars like Tim Howard
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Tim Hankinson