It seems as if Penn State will be replacing one soccer coaching legend with another.

Penn State announced that Creighton’s Bob Warming will become Penn State soccer’s 11th head coach. This news should delight fans of the soccer program at Penn State.

Bob Warming currently sits 6th among active Division I head coaches and 15th all-time with 383 victories over 32 years. He is also one of two coaches ever to coach 2 different programs to the College Cup.

In essence, Bob Warming is Creighton soccer. In just 3 short years, Bob Warming led the Creighton Blue Jays to a perfect 19-0-0 record and the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament. During his cumulative 14 seasons with the Blue Jays, he compiled a 190-61-34 record (.726) including 7 Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships and led 11 of those teams to the NCAA tournament.

He also helped plan and develop Michael G. Morrison Stadium, a $13 million, 6,000 seater venue, arguably one of the finest soccer facilities in the nation. It is no coincidence that Creighton rank among national attendance leaders annually with their state of the art facility and an impeccable 107-18-15 home record.

In spite of his glowing resume, Bob Warming greatest achievement as coach has to be the consistent development of his players. Although he began his stint at Creighton in 1990, he left the program for St Louis University in 1994 before returning to Omaha in 2001. Since his return, Warming has had at least one player selected in each MLS Draft. Warming’s Creighton is the only college program in the nation to have a player selected in every MLS Draft ever held accounting for 42 former Bluejays that have gone on to play professionally since ’93. How could you compete with that stat line when recruiting the top players in the nation?

Penn State soccer fans should be thrilled with the selection of Bob Warming as the school’s next head coach. He has a proven track record both on and off the field. In addition to success on the field, he was pivotal in the construction and upgrades of soccer facilities at both Creighton and St. Louis University. One would expect any deal to lure him away from Creighton involved promises to upgrade existing facilities at Penn State. Almost a requirement if you have ever attended a soccer game at Jeffery Field. It is desperately in need of upgrades especially when you compare it to Morrison Stadium Bob Warming just left behind.

It is nice to see Penn State show a commitment to excellence in sports other than football and the administration’s recent track record with Cael Sanderson and Bob Warming should have fans excited that the school is actually looking outside the Penn State family for quality head coaches.