UT-Permian Basin has announced that head men’s soccer coach Dennis Peterson has retired after 22 seasons.
Peterson served as the program’s head coach since 2000 and also served as the women’s soccer head coach from 2004-12.
“Family is incredibly important to me, and now I think it’s the right time to step away and be with them,” said Peterson in a press release. “One of my greatest honors as a coach was being able to coach my sons Cody and Gage for eight of my 22 seasons. I’m very thankful for the time I got to spend on the pitch working with student-athletes and the opportunity to do so for 22 years.”
Since the Falcons joined the NCAA in 2007, Peterson led the Falcons to 76 victories. In 2017, they won a program-record nine games en route to their first NCAA postseason appearance while senior Brandon Lee was Heartland Conference Offensive Player of the Year. In 2014, Peterson coached his first Heartland Offensive Player of the Year in Nathan Cotterell.
Peterson had his most successful coaching season in 2005, winning the Heartland regular season championship and was named conference Coach of the Year.
As the women’s coach, Peterson was named the 2007 Heartland Conference Coach of the Year and won 32 NCAA games. Under his watch, Midland High grad Hannah Dozier won Heartland Offensive Player of the Year in 2009 and Marianne Hubnik won Freshman of the Year in 2008. He is still the program’s all-time winningest coach.
“We very much appreciate Dennis’ years of service to both UTPB soccer programs,” said UTPB Director of Athletics Todd Dooley in a press release. “His impact on the athletic department, the university, and especially the lives of our student-athletes, both on and off the field cannot be overstated. We all wish him the best of luck in retirement.”
UTPB announced that associate head coach Victor Domingues will take over the program as head coach on an interim basis. Domingues has been with the program since 2019.