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Former University of Akron Assistant Dave Giffard was named head men’s soccer coach at Virginia Commonwealth University on December 31, 2009.

It’s been five years since the VCU played in the NCAA Tournament, but VCU Director of Athletics Norwood Teague hopes this move will push the program closer to a return trip.

Bringing Dave to VCU is a real coup for our soccer program,” Teague said. “What he and Caleb [Porter] were able to do at Akron has been nothing short of spectacular, and I am excited to see him apply it here at VCU. The future is bright for VCU soccer."

Giffard spent the last four years under Porter at Akron, the 2009 National Runner-Up. The Zips reached the national title game this year before falling to Virginia on penalty kicks. UA finished a superb 23-1-1. 

“First off, I would like to thank Norwood and his staff for giving me the opportunity to lead a program that has had so much success in the past and is full of potential for the future,” Giffard said. “I am honored to join the VCU Athletics family and look forward to working with current and future student-athletes, alumni and fans to build VCU soccer into something very special.

“My goals for the program are simple. We need to build a solid foundation and a culture of excellence, coupled with the recruitment of talented and committed student-athletes that will allow us to compete at the highest levels of NCAA Division I Soccer. There will be very high standards in all aspects of the student-athlete experience, with the goal that each player will develop to reach his potential, and as a group we can accomplish the very best that we are capable of. This spring will be a great opportunity to get to work and lay that foundation for the future here at VCU.”

Giffard has been outstanding on the recruiting trail with Akron, reeling in top-five recruiting classes every season, including the top class in the country in 2009. In all, the Zips recruited 10 NSCAA Youth All-Americans, and five players earned Parade All-Americans citations during their Akron careers. 

"VCU is getting not only a good coach who will be extremely beneficial to the program’s success soccer wise, but even more importantly, his quality as a person will benefit the mentoring of his student athletes academically and as people,” Porter said. “Dave will hit the ground running and I expect his impact on the players and presence with the alumni and in the community to be felt immediately. "

Outside of recruiting, Giffard has been instrumental in the development of the Zips goalkeepers, including Evan Bush, who was a Freshman All-American and a three-time All-MAC First-Team honoree, and is now playing for Crystal Palace Baltimore of the USL. The tradition continued in 2009, when Zips’ freshman keeper David Meves was named a Freshman All-American and Third Team Great Lakes All-Region after he led the nation in goals-against-average and shutout percentage.  

“Coach [Giffard] is a top-notch guy, first and foremost,” Bush said. “He cares strongly about the game of soccer and the players he coaches. His work ethic and drive during the time I was around him were major strengths. I think he is a great person to have lead the young men at VCU, not only on the field, but just as importantly, off the field.”

Under Giffard’s tutelage, Akron has led the nation in goals-against-average the past two years. In 2009, the Zips tied an NCAA record for consecutive victories in a single season with 23.

Thanks to his ability to build relationships in the community, Giffard aided a nearly 350-percent attendance boom at Akron. Last season, Akron’s average attendance of 2,618 per game ranked among the nation’s leaders. 

Prior to Akron, Giffard spent one season as a volunteer assistant at Indiana, where the Hoosiers went 13-3-6 and earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  Under his direction, IU goalkeeper Chris Munroe led the Big Ten in shutouts and goals-against average on the way to a First Team Academic All-America selection. 

Before his tenure at Indiana, Giffard served as an assistant at the University of Alabama-Birmingham from 2000-04. The Blazers posted a 60-29-16 overall record over that span and earned a pair of NCAA Tournament bids, including a Sweet 16 run in 2001. UAB was also ranked among the top 10 in the nation during each of Giffard’s five years.

“I think that VCU has hired a superb coach and a guy who has been successful at every stop in his coaching career,” UAB Head Coach Mike Getman said. “More than just a coach, Dave is a terrific person that is an excellent recruiter and an outstanding builder of relationships, both with student-athletes and the surrounding community. I know that Dave will continue his history of success as he takes the reins of VCU soccer.”

Since 2000 with UAB, Indiana and Akron, Giffard has had a hand in coaching and/or recruiting 30 players who have gone on to be drafted or play professional soccer, including l2009's No. 1 overall pick in the MLS Draft, Steve Zakuani, and two members of this year’s Generation Adidas class, Teal Bunbury of The Kansas City Wizards and Blair Gavin of Chivas USA.

Former Tusculum College Head Coach Brett Teach accepted an assistant coaching position with the Rams in February.

Teach, who spent the previous three seasons at the helm of Tusculum’s men’s soccer program, joins Giffard’s staff as he is set to begin his first season at VCU this fall.

“We are very excited to add Brett to our staff here at VCU,” said Giffard.  “He has had a tremendous amount of success as a head coach over the last 20-plus years.  Building a championship staff is just like putting together a championship team.  We took a big step in that direction today with Brett coming on board.  With players, and staff alike, we try to find the most talented, hard-working people possible, and Brett certainly epitomizes the type of person we want to associate with our program.”

“I’m thrilled to be a part of VCU Soccer,” Teach said.  “I believe very strongly in the vision that Coach Giffard and the athletic department has set for men’s soccer, and I certainly feel that I can help contribute.  It’s fun to be a part of such an energetic and enthusiastic staff and I really look forward to the opportunity to help build the program and to bring the type of energy and positive experiences I’ve had at my other stops.  I feel very strongly that it will be a unique and special experience for the players and the staff.”

In just three years with the Pioneers, Teach, who inherited a Tusculum program that suspended play a year prior to his arrival in 2006, led his squads to an impressive 41-18-5 record, including back-to-back South Atlantic Conference titles and SAC Coach of the Year honors in 2007 and 2008. His team advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and turned in the program’s first-ever 20-win campaign in 2008, while finishing the year ranked seventh in the final NSCAA/adidas Division II poll.

Prior to Tusculum, Teach spent seven seasons as the head men’s soccer coach at Auburn University at Montgomery.  During his tenure at AUM, Teach guided the Senators to the NAIA National Playoffs each of his seven seasons, while posting a 139-12-6 record, including three NAIA National Runner-Up finishes, four NAIA Final Four appearances and five Elite Eight showings.

Teach also spent six seasons as head coach at Georgia State University and four years at Oglethorpe University, where he coached both the men’s and women’s squads at the Division III level.  He began his coaching career at Erskine College in 1987.

During his successful career, Teach has been named Conference Coach of the Year nine times.  He has also received NAIA Region XII Coach of the Year and NAIA South Region Coach of the Year on four occasions, while earning NSCAA Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors in 2008 and NAIA National Coach of the Year accolades in 2000.

Ryan Pratt was named assistant coach on May 17th, 2010 and prior to that served the last nine years at The University of Montevallo and has guided the program from moderate success in his first three years to a Gulf South Conference championship and the school's first-ever (in men's soccer) NCAA Tournament in 2004.

Pratt, who was also named GSC Co-Coach of the Year in 2005, was named the third coach in the history of the UM men's soccer program in the fall of 2001. In his 8 seasons at UM, Pratt has developed 20 GSC 1st team members, 23 GSC 2nd team members, 3 GSC Players of the Year, 18 NSCAA All South Region Team Members, 4 NSCAA All-Americans, 11 GSC All-Academic team members, and 1 Major League Soccer (MLS) draft pick (Melford James, Jr. 2008 supplemental draft pick of the Chicago Fire).

Pratt came to UM from former conference rival University of Alabama-Huntsville, where he served as an assistant coach for the 2000 season. Prior to UAH, Pratt was an assistant coach for the women's soccer program at the University of Alabama-Birmingham from 1997-99. While at UAB, he helped the Blazers to a 30-28-3 record.

Originally a native of San Jose, Calif., Pratt graduated from Franklin High School in Franklin, Tenn., where he competed for four seasons. Pratt played at UAB from 1993-96, and helped lead the Blazers to two consecutive conference championships in 1994 and 1995 and their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1994. Pratt later earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast communications with a minor in sociology in 1998.

Pratt also has playing experience at the semi-professional level, playing for the Nashville Metros for two years and the Alabama Saints for three seasons.