John Basalyga is in his eleventh season on the bench for the Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team. He boasts a collegiate coaching record of 137-54-20, has twice been named the Regional Coach of the Year and in 2010 was named the Division II National Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
In 2012, Basalyga and the Norse posted a 7-10-1 record in their first season at the Division I level. The team went 4-3-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, finishing 4th in the conference and unable to compete in the post-season due to reclassification.
In 2011, the Norse posted a record of 14-5-0, finishing second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. It marked the sixth consecutive season the Norse advanced to NCAA postseason play. They defeated Northwood (Mich.) 2-0 in the first round before falling to Rockhurst 2-0 in the second round.
In 2010, Basalyga led his team to a record of 20-2-3 and captured his first NCAA national championship, defeating Rollins by a score of 3-2 in the final. It marked the fifth consecutive season that the Norse have advanced to NCAA postseason play and the first national title for NKU in any men’s sport. Additionally, the Norse claimed their first Great Lakes Valley Conference championship in 15 seasons with a 3-0 defeat over Indianapolis. Basalyga earned national coach of the year honors during the campaign.
In 2009, the Norse boss led the team to a 15-6-2 record and a fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament, where NKU battled second-ranked Drury to a 1-0 loss in the first round.
In 2008, Basalyga set a new standard for excellence in NKU soccer, taking the Norse to the Division II National Semifinal after claiming a third straight Midwest Region championship. The Norse finished with a 16-3-4 overall record and two of the team’s three seniors graduated as All-Americans, while sophomore Steven Beattie was named the Division II National Player of the Year.
In 2007, Basalyga made Great Lakes Valley Conference history, coaching the Norse to an unprecedented 13-0 conference record, as well as the school’s second consecutive Great Lakes Region title. The Norse rattled off 20-straight wins en route to a 22-2 final record, both school records. The dominating performance earned Basalyga his second consecutive GLVC and Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year awards. The 2007 squad boasted eight players who would go on to graduate as All-Americans.
In 2006, Basalyga led the Norse to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament, and won the Great Lakes Region championship as the No. 2 seed. The squad matched a school record with 16 wins, and posted a NKU-best .795 winning percentage on the year.
In 2005, Basalyga’s NKU squad pulled off a first-round upset of third-seeded Wisconsin-Parkside in the opening round of the GLVC Tournament. It marked the first time since 1997 that NKU had won a game in the GLVC Tournament. The Norse, who entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed, finished with an 11-8-2 record.
Basalyga led NKU to one of the nation’s top turnarounds in 2004, as the Norse posted a 12-6-2 overall record while posting a 6-3-1 in the GLVC. Basalyga’s team also featured 2004
GLVC Player of the Year Nate Madden.
During his first season at the helm, Basalyga guided a youthful NKU squad to a 4-9-3 overall record, including a 2-5-3 mark in the GLVC. In his coaching debut at NKU in 2003, Basalyga led his team to a 4-2 win over NCAA Division II power University of Findlay.
Prior to accepting the NKU job, Basalyga compiled a 325-93-58 record as boys’ soccer coach at Turpin High School in Cincinnati over the course of 24 years. He led Turpin to Ohio state championships in 1986, 2000 and 2001, and his teams produced 22 consecutive winning seasons.
He also led the Spartans to 15 sectional championships and was named the Ohio High School State Coach of the Year in 2001.
Basalyga is a 1973 graduate of Bowling Green State University, where he played baseball and ice hockey for two years.
Basalyga and his wife, Linda, reside in Cincinnati. They have three children. His daughter, Lindsay Basalyga, is the women’s soccer head coach at Bowling Green State University.
