On Sunday, August 11th, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s athletics department announced that Anson Dorrance, long-time head coach of the women’s soccer program at UNC and a former head coach of the United States Women’s National Team, has retired, effective immediately.
Dorrance, as most fans of women’s soccer should be well aware, is the most successful coach in NCAA Division I women’s soccer, winning 21 national titles.
While not the first head coach of the USWNT, in many ways, Dorrance was the team’s founding father. He helped to establish the team’s identity and brought in young players such as Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Kristine Lilly. As head coach, Dorrance lead the USWNT to its first FIFA Women’s World Cup title, though at the time, the tournament did not use the “World Cup” moniker.
The press release (goheels.com) stated that Dorrance informed UNC’s Director of Athletics on Friday (August 9th) and notified the women’s soccer team on Sunday.
Assistant head coach Damon Nahas, who is the brother of North Carolina Courage head coach, Sean Nahas, will be the interim head coach.
The press release had a statement from Dorrance:
“As many of you know I modeled our program after Dean Smith’s basketball program, and retiring at this time is a credit to his thinking, as well,” says Dorrance. “He would re-evaluate his tenure, not after the season, but after he had time to recharge his batteries prior to the next season. When he didn’t, he retired. After last season I initially was excited about the chance to bolster our roster, which we most certainly have done, but as preseason training camp went on, I realized I didn’t have the same energy it takes to give 100% to this year’s team. The players and staff, the university, Carolina athletics and our great fans deserve more, and the respect I have for the amazing legacy the current and former players have built led me to make this decision at this time.”
A sudden resignation is not out of character for Dorrance. When Dorrance was head coach of the USWNT, he stepped down rather abruptly, just days before Concacaf qualifying for the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
This is from a 2012 article I wrote that summarizes the tenures of past USWNT head coaches:
Dorrance, concerned that U.S. Soccer would choose the next head coach based on politics rather than what was best for the USWNT, groomed DiCicco to be his heir apparent and planned to used his last set of the matches, the 1994 Chiquita Cup, as DiCicco’s unofficial trial run as head coach. Two days before the tournament, and only sixteen days before CONCACAF qualifying for the 1995 Women’s World Cup, Dorrance informed U.S. Soccer of his plans to let DiCicco be acting coach. However, the next day, it was reported that Dorrance had resigned and DiCicco had been named the next head coach. But, the day after that, it was clarified that Dorrance would stay on through qualifying in a nominal capacity.
For more on Dorrance, an authorized biography was published in 2006 and updated in 2010: The Man Watching: Anson Dorrance and the University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer Dynasty (MacMillan.com).
One likely factor for Dorrance’s resignation is the unprecedented turnover in players. After the end of the 2023 fall season, the UNC women’s soccer program saw an early exodus of players, with 6 undergraduates entering the transfer portal, along with multiple undergraduates going pro, including Ally Sentnor of the Utah Royals and Savy King of Bay FC. In total, the program lost 21 players due to a combination of graduation, transfers, and going professional early. See UNC women’s soccer faces major roster turnover for 2024 season (DailyTarHeel.com). Dorrance may also have been under increased scrutiny from UNC’s athletic department and/or UNC’s administration, based in part of his handling of an inappropriate relationship between an assistant coach and a player. See Is the Long Reign of UNC Women’s Soccer Over? (TheAssemblyNC.com).
Edit: Here is the official video of Monday’s press conference:
Women's Soccer Express 