Sonny Travis was named the head coach of the Emory men's soccer
program in July of 2007.
During his first three seasons at Emory, Travis led the Eagles to a
44-9-3 record, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament and
back-to-back 16-win seasons for the first time in school history in
2007 and 2008. Despite having a young team in 2009, Travis
was able to lead the Eagles to their eighth-consecutive season of
10 or more wins.
In 2008, he coached the Eagles to their first UAA Championship
since the 1998 season, as Emory advanced to the Round of 16 of the
NCAA Tournament, finishing the campaign with a 16-2-1 overall
record. In 2007, Travis helped the Eagles to a 16-3-0 record,
as his squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA
Tournament.
He won the 300th match of his career during the Eagles' 4-0 win
over Heidelberg College (Ohio), on September 15, 2007, becoming the
27th Division III head coach to do so. The win came at the
Adidas Invitational, hosted by Center College (Ky.), where Travis
began his coaching career.
In 23 years of coaching at the Division III level, Travis has a
career ledger of 338-101-40. Entering the 2009 season, his
.748 career winning percentage ranks him 29th among NCAA
all-Division coaches all-time, and 11th among Division III coaches
all-time. His 326 victories entering 2009 were the 22nd-most in
Division III history, and 18th among active Division III
coaches.
Travis came to the Eagles' program after an extremely successful
18-year stint with the Virginia Wesleyan program. During his
tenure, he established himself as the school's all-time winningest
coach with a record of 270-74-31. He directed Virginia Wesleyan to
13 NCAA appearances, including four this decade (2000, 2003, 2005,
2006), and eight Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships. He
had three of his squads advance to the NCAA Tournament's Final 16.
He had been honored as the "Coach of the Year" on 15 occasions
including five ODAC Conference selections. Travis was
the head men's soccer coach at Virginia Wesleyan since 1989 and
school's athletic director since 1999 before leaving for Emory. His
career also includes a three-year stay at Centre College
(1986-89).
Travis holds a Class "A" license with the United States Soccer
Federation as well as an NSCAA Premier Diploma. He serves as
a state or district Olympic Development Program coach in three
states and is presently on the Virginia Coaching Education Staff
for licensing coaches at the USSF "D" and National "C" courses
conducted in Virginia.
Travis played collegiately at Slippery Rock University where he
earned his bachelor's degree in physical education and health in
1977. He obtained his master's degree in physical
education/sports administration concentration from the University
of North Carolina in 1980.
Updated May 2010
Ben Buerger joined the Emory University coaching staff prior to
the start of the 2009 season.
During his first campaign with Emory, he helped the Eagles to a
12-4-2, while one player to all-South Atlantic Region honors, and
three others to all-University Athletic Association (UAA)
honors.
Prior to Emory, Buerger's most recent coaching experience came from
2004 through 2006 when he served as an assistant coach at Sewanee
University. During his stint with the Tigers, he coached a
total of nine all-conference spots while seeing his players garner
a pair of berths on the All-South Region Team. Prior to his
tenure at Sewanee, he was on the Western Kentucky University staff
as an assistant coach in 2003.
Buerger enjoyed a fine collegiate playing career at Western
Kentucky where he served as team captain as well as earning team
MVP honors as a senior. He landed Second Team All-Missouri
Valley Conference honors and wound up tied for third on the
Hilltoppers' all-time list with 75 career starts.
He also played professionally for the Nashville Metros of the
Premier Development League from 2002 through 2006 where he
distinguished himself by being named captain as well as earning MVP
acclaim.
"Ben is going to be an excellent addition to the staff," said head
coach Sonny Travis. "He has a combination of Division I and
Division III coaching experience and played at a high level as a
collegian. I'm impressed with his energy and passion for the
game and look forward to his contributions."
Buerger earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from
Western Kentucky in 2003. He owns his certification from the
American Council on Exercise and holds the NSCAA National Diploma.
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