On Monday, April 25, the news broke that Tennessee head soccer coach Brian Pensky—who we had just had on the pod last week to talk about Lady Vols’s spring season and what was to come in the fall—had signed for women’s footy powerhouse FLORIDA STATE.
The news, to us, was a shock because of the timing. For others, it was a surprise; Pensky had just been named SEC Coach of the Year and was rewarded by the university with contract extension with a notable pay bump up, from $185,000 to $250,000/year.
Former FSU head coach Mike Krikorian, who’d led the Noles to three national titles (2014, 2018, 2021) over his 17 seasons in charge, had transformed the school into one of the more dominant forces in women’s soccer. His winning percentage while in charge was nearly 80% (Pensky’s, by comparison, was 65% over 10 seasons with the Lady Vols). He was the also highest paid coach in women’s soccer, with an annual salary of $450,000. His winning
Read more about Pensky’s departure and Krikorian’s arrival at these sources:
Brian Pensky of Tennessee named coach of reigning champion Florida State women's soccer (Knoxville News Sentinel)
FLORIDA STATE NAMES CURRENT SEC COACH OF THE YEAR AND FORMER ACC AND NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR BRIAN PENSKY AS THE SEMINOLES’ NEW WOMEN’S SOCCER COACH (Seminoles.com)
Mark Krikorian steps down (FSUNews.com)
Florida State Sports Notebook: New Soccer Coach Edition (Tomahawk Nation)
Florida State hires Tennessee head coach Brian Pensky as next head soccer coach (Yahoo Sports/Tallahassee Democrat)
We’ll see you in a few weeks—or months?—to introduce you to whoever Tennessee brings in to take the reins for the 2022 fall season!
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Brian always has more to say about ⚽ on his Substack. As well as on the One Knoxville Chronicles.
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