July 24, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF Director of Athletics and Executive Vice President Keith Tribble and head coach Amanda Cromwell announced Tuesday that assistant coach Colby Hale has been promoted to the position of UCF Women's Soccer Associate Head Coach. Hale has been with the Knights since the 2003 season, as the Black and Gold have posted a combined 32-5-1 record in conference play over that stretch.
"I would like to thank coach Cromwell and Mr. Tribble for this opportunity," said Hale. "It is always nice to be recognized for hard work and dedication. The chance to work with this staff and the student-athletes has been my pleasure and I look forward to our very bright future."
Overall, UCF is 56-25-5 with Hale part of the coaching staff. The Knights have made two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a second-round showing in 2004, and earned the Atlantic Sun's first at-large bid in conference history in 2004. UCF then nabbed a share of the Conference USA regular-season title in its first year in the league in 2005, and finished in second place last year with a 7-1-1 C-USA record. Last year, Hale helped guide the Knights to victories over No. 9 Rice and No. 15 SMU, as the program concluded its campaign with an 11-6-2 mark.
As the team's recruiting coordinator, Hale has seen three-straight recruiting classes ranked nationally, including the 2006 class listed as No. 24 by SoccerBuzz.com. More impressively, UCF was one of just two teams to have two freshman All-Americans (Kendra Flock and Jessica Hallgren) in 2004.
In the classroom, UCF has collected team grade-point averages of 3.0 or better the last four seasons. Hale also saw Courtney Baines become the program's first CoSIDA Academic All-American when she received the honor in 2005.
Hale graduated from Oral Roberts with a bachelor's degree in theology and a minor in business administration. He was a three-year letterwinner for the Golden Eagles, and went to serve as an assistant coach at ORU from 2000-03.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.