Sonny Travis was named the head coach of the Emory men's soccer
program in July of 2007.
During his five seasons at Emory, Travis led the Eagles to a
68-20-5 record, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament
and back-to-back 16-win seasons for the first time in school
history in 2007 and 2008. On September 18, 2010, he won his
50th game with the Eagles, reaching the mark in just 62 games, the
fastest by any coach in the program's history.
Travis led the Eagles to a 14-3-2 record and a berth into the
NCAA Tournament in 2010, as Emory finished the year ranked 18th in
Division III. 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 26 years of coaching at the Division III level, Travis has a
career ledger of 362-112-42. Entering the 2010 season, his
.747 career winning percentage ranks him 31st among NCAA
all-Division coaches all-time, and 11th among Division III coaches
all-time. His 338 victories entering 2010 were the 22nd-most in
Division III history, and 17th 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 December 2011
Ben Buerger joined the Emory University coaching staff prior to
the start of the 2009 season.
In his three seasons with the team, Emory has combined to go
36-15-4, including a berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament in
2010. Under Buerger's leadership, the Eagles finished the
2010 season ranked 18th among all NCAA Division III teams, while
recording the fourth-lowest goals-against average (0.41) and
10th-best scoring offense (2.79 goals per game) in Division
III. During his first campaign with Emory, he helped the
Eagles to a 12-4-2 record.
Buerger has overseen an all-American, six all-region
players and 17 all-UAA honorees during his three seasons with the
team.
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 Advanced National
Diploma.
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