Monday, December 20, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida athletic director Lee Moon announced the hiring of Derek Marinatos as the head coach of the Osprey men’s soccer program.

Marinatos comes to UNF following a four-year coaching stint at Furman University having most recently served as associate head coach. During his tenure, the Paladins compiled a 49-27-4 record and were the 2010 Southern Conference regular season champions.

“I am extremely excited to have Derek taking over our men’s soccer program,” said Moon. “He has been a key part of nationally successful programs and also demonstrated the strong ability to recruit and develop the top caliber student-athletes that we are looking for at North Florida. Derek definitely possessed all the qualities we were looking for in a head coach.”

As an assistant at Furman, Marinatos had responsibilities with all aspects of the Paladin program including recruiting, film analysis, scheduling, equipment, budgets, alumni relations and academics. In addition to capturing the 2010 So-Con title, he helped guide Furman to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007 following a 19-4-0 finish that included a Top 20 national ranking and both the Southern Conference regular season and tournament crowns.

Two of his recruiting classes at Furman earned high national rankings with his 2008 group listed 17th and the 2009 class ranking 27th.

"I would like to thank Coach Moon and the entire athletic department for this tremendous opportunity to come to UNF to be the head men's soccer coach and return home to Jacksonville where I grew up,” Marinatos said. “I am extremely impressed with the school's commitment to athletics and academics. I also want to thank my family and wife Brittany for their support. Finally, I want to thank two of my coaching mentors, Doug Allison at Furman and Mike Rubesch at Emory University for helping me prepare for this amazing opportunity. I look forward to bringing an attractive possession based, attacking style of soccer in order to attract the best student-athletes to the program."

Prior to his time at Furman, Marinatos served a six-year stint as an assistant and goalkeeper coach at his alma mater, Emory. The Eagles made a pair of NCAA Division III Tournament appearances including a 15-4-0 finish in 2005.

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