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PROVO — Longtime BYU men's soccer coach Chris Watkins has stepped down from the position, the coach said Thursday afternoon.
Watkins spent 21 seasons as the head coach of the BYU men's team, including leading the Cougars to the Premier Development League in 2003. The former Drake University single-season goal-scoring record holder helped BYU to an overall record of 304-103-75 during his tenure at the helm of the program.
"You just need someone with more time," said Watkins, who was promoted to associate head coach of the BYU women's soccer team in 2013. "It's hard for me to give the time to do something that we can be more proud of."
The Cougars won National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) collegiate club soccer championships in 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001. The team notched 30 straight victories in the national tournament during its run of four straight titles from 1996-99 and often led teams by as much as 4-0 at halftime of the events.
Since joining the PDL, BYU has made the postseason tournament three times since 2006, including back-to-back trips to the conference finals in 2006 and 2007. The Cougars also qualified for the playoffs last year, a feat that earned them a bid in U.S. Soccer's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament.
Watkins played with the semiprofessional Salt Lake Flamengo from 1992 to 1995 and he scored the game-winning goal for the Utah Blitzz in the 2002 Western Conference finals.
In high school, Watkins was named Kansas' Gatorade Player of the Year before continuing on to Drake and later earning a bachelor's degree in psychology from BYU.
