James Armstrong (soccer, born 1979)

James Armstrong
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-03-20) March 20, 1979 (age 45)[1]
Place of birth Yorkshire, England
Team information
Current team
 Auburn Tigers (head coach)
Managerial career
Years Team
2013–2018 Auburn Tigers (Asst./assoc. head coach)
2019–2024 Mississippi State Bulldogs
2025– Auburn Tigers

James Armstrong (born March 20, 1979) is an English college soccer coach who is the head coach of the Auburn Tigers women's soccer team. He previously coached the Mississippi State Bulldogs, where he is the winningest head coach in program history. In 2024, he was named Southeastern Conference (SEC) Coach of the Year at Mississippi State.

Career

Raised in the small English village of Embsay, Armstrong grew up in a soccer family supporting Manchester United. He attended the University of Edinburgh and studied abroad at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for one year. After college, he began working for the United States Soccer Federation as the equipment manager for the national women's under-19 team. He later spent a decade working for Lonestar SC, a youth club based in Austin, Texas.[2]

Armstrong joined the college coaching ranks when he was hired as an assistant on Karen Hoppa's Auburn Tigers coaching staff in 2013.[2]

Armstrong was the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs from 2019 to 2024, compiling an overall record of 62–35–18, which makes him the winningest coach in program history.[3] In his final season in Starkville, he led Mississippi State to go 10–0 in conference play to claim the first Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular-season title in program history, which led him to be named SEC Coach of the Year.[4]

Armstrong returned to Auburn in 2025, succeeding Hoppa after her retirement.[3]

References

  1. ^ "James Armstrong". Mississippi State Bulldogs. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Krajisnik, Stefan (October 26, 2022). "From English village to Starkville: How James Armstrong got to Mississippi State soccer". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Rauterkus, Peter (December 3, 2024). "Auburn officially announces the hire of new head soccer coach James Armstrong". AL.com. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  4. ^ Sklar, Sam (November 3, 2024). "Mississippi State soccer wins numerous SEC awards. James Armstrong is Coach of the Year". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved December 24, 2024.