Bryan Cunningham: University of Central Florida Head Coach; Camp Director

Bryan Cunningham:

In his third season at the University of Central Florida men’s soccer, head coach Bryan Cunningham continues to build the program with consistent improvement on and off the soccer field.

In Cunningham’s second season in charge, the Knights improved their win total by three from the previous season to seven in 2008. Despite playing an extremely challenging slate that included 2007 national runner-up Ohio State and a ranked South Florida squad, the seven wins equaled the most by a UCF team since 2005.

After assisting in the continued development of the soccer programs at Pfeiffer, Appalachian State and South Carolina, Cunningham first joined the UCF men’s soccer program as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in May 2005 after serving in a similar position at South Carolina for three years. Cunningham’s first recruiting class was ranked in the top 30 nationally by College Soccer News and first in the south region by StudentSports.com. By the end of 2006, three of those players garnered All-Conference USA honors.

Following the resignation of Brent Erwin in January 2007, Cunningham was appointed interim head coach before being formally named to the position a month later.  In his first season at the helm, Cunningham helped the offense score 24 goals, the most tallies since 2002. The Knights also claimed the New Mexico Invitational and the UCF Fall Classic titles en route to a 4-12-2 record. In the classroom, a total of 15 Knights earned spots on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, and those returning for 2008 hold an average grade-point average over a 3.0.

In Cunningham’s two seasons as head coach at UCF, three players have gone on to play professionally, three Knights have earned spots on the all-conference teams and two players have garnered C-USA all-freshman team accolades. Following the 2008 season, goalkeeper Sean Johnson was chosen to represent his country on the U-20 United States National Team.
Over the summer of 2008, Cunningham was invited to Euro 2008 as a guest of the Swedish FA, Malmo FF and the Northern Ireland Schoolboys. At the event, he served as a research panelist for Sweden vs. Greece and Croatia vs. Germany.

As a member of the South Carolina staff, Cunningham recruited several highly-touted student-athletes into the program. Among his recruits were Mike Sambursky, a 2007 draftee of Major League Soccer (MLS) Champion Houston Dynamo; Makan Hislop, captain of the U-20 Trinidad and Tobago National Team; and Brad Guzan, an All-America and No. 2 pick in the 2005 MLS Super Draft.

Prior to his stint at USC, Cunningham was an assistant coach at Appalachian State for five years under the tutelage of Southern Conference Coach of Year award winners T.J. Kostecky and Aidan Heaney. At ASU, he worked with eight All-South Region honorees, a SoCon Player of the Year, 13 All-SoCon selections and a College Soccer News Freshman All-American. ASU also boasted an Academic All-American and 18 players on the league’s All-Academic Team.

In addition to his coaching experience at the collegiate level, he was also active in the North Carolina and South Carolina Olympic Development Programs.

On the international level, Cunningham presently serves as an advisor for the Northern Ireland U-18 Schoolboys and managers Bob Ramsey and Andy McMorran. He has completed his UEFA-B license during the summer of 2009.

An avid believer in having his program give back to the community, Cunningham has been active promoting youth soccer in the Seminole and Orange County school systems, as well as at three area Christian schools and the YMCA. For the past two seasons, he has been the guiding force in the UCF men’s soccer team’s involvement in the annual Youth Sports Festival.

A native of Philadelphia, Cunningham was a four-year letterwinner and three-time captain for the Pfeiffer University soccer team. The Falcons won two Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference Championships and earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. He was also a four-time Scholar-Athlete and Dean’s List honoree, while appearing in the Who’s Who among American College Students.

Cunningham, who holds a bachelor’s degree in communications, resides in Orlando with his wife Amy, daughter Elyn Elizabeth (four) and son Alexander Michael (one).