With success comes rewards. The University of Akron made that clear on Friday when it announced a contract extension through 2020 for Caleb Porter, coach of the NCAA champion men's soccer team.
The Zips defeated Louisville, 1-0, on Sunday in Santa Barbara, Calif., to capture their national championship in any sport. The win marked the third national championship in any sport for a Mid-American Conference school.
Porter's name has been on the lips of nearly every college soccer fan and several athletic directors across the country, as well as professional teams.
But Porter made it clear in a release issued by the univeristy that Akron is home sweet home, as he thanked UA president Luis Proenza and others on the board of trustees.
"With their unwavering support, we were able to achieve our goal of winning the national championship," Porter said. "There are plenty of places to have a coaching career and raise a family, but the University of Akron and this community are truly unique and special.
"I am loyal to Akron and I want to leave a legacy for Akron soccer. I am proud of our program and the success we have had. Over the last five years, the friendships I have made and the support we have received from our alumni, fans and the AK-Rowdies brings meaning to what we do. I look forward to building on our tradition of excellence for many years to come."
In five seasons as Akron's coach, Porter has a career record of 90-13-10 (.841). The Zips have advanced to the NCAA Tournament every year of his tenure and to the national championship game each of the last two seasons, finishing as runner-up in 2009. Their back-to-back title game appearances were the first in Division I men's soccer since Indiana in 2003 and 2004.
Fans have responded to the Zips' success. Akron was seventh nationally in attendance in 2009. This season, they drew an average of 3,213 fans to Lee Jackson Field, the second-highest attendance in the country and an increase of more than 1,000 from last season.
Akron has produced a finalist for the Hermann Trophy -- soccer's version of football's Heisman Trophy -- in each of the last three years. In 2009, the Zips' Teal Bunbury because the first player in school history to win the award. Also, the Zips have had five players drafted by Major League Soccer during Porter's tenure.
Porter is the winningest active coach in Division I men's soccer. He has been named Mid-American Conference Coach of the year four times and national coach of the year once.
"I'm very pleased that the University will have coach Porter for 10 more years," Proenza said in the statement. "I think it's important that we not only reward Caleb for the job he's done, but also give him the support and stability he needs to keep our men's soccer program a successful and nationally respected program for many years to come."
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