BUFFALO, NY – Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ona Halladay is pleased to announce the hiring of Stu Riddle as the next head coach of the D'Youville University men's soccer program.
"We are excited to welcome Stu Riddle to the Saints' family," said Halladay. "What set Riddle apart from a pool of talented candidates was his success as a head coach at three different Division I institutions paired with his recruiting background in the area from his time at UB. "While we finish the process of becoming a full-fledged member of the NCAA Division II, our goal for all of our programs moving forward is to compete for conference championships and I'm confident he will have our men's soccer program doing so in the East Coast Conference and hopefully earning NCAA Division II tournament appearances in the next three years."
Riddle comes to D'Youville from Northern Kentucky University (2017-21), an NCAA Division I member of the Horizon League. The 2020 Horizon League Coach of the Year, Riddle guided his squad to the regular season championship in the same year, while earning the program's first national ranking at the Division I level. Additionally, his clubs recorded just the second and third winning seasons in the Division I history of the program, helping Riddle record the most wins in school history (37) at that level of competition.
"I would like to thank Ona Halladay and her staff for trusting me and presenting me with this extremely exciting opportunity to lead the Saints men's soccer program," said Riddle. "I am delighted to not only be back in Buffalo but to be a part of an athletic department that clearly has a young, progressive administration who are ready and willing to take this program to a whole new level."
Prior to NKU, Riddle served as the head men's soccer coach at the University at Buffalo from 2013 until the University eliminated the program for budgetary reasons after the 2016 campaign. In his last two seasons at the helm, he guided his teams to back-to-back Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament Championship match appearances including going 12-4-3 in 2016 while receiving votes in the NCAA Division I Poll for five consecutive weeks.
Riddle originally came to Buffalo from MAC foe Western Michigan University, where he also led the program to consecutive MAC Tournament Runner-Up finishes in 2009 and 2010. His squads not only excelled on the pitch but in the classroom as well with his 2012 team earning the second-highest GPA in Division I men's soccer.
Furthermore, over his career, seven of his teams earned a team GPA of at least 3.25.
A 1997 and 1998 All-Big South selection, Riddle played Division I soccer at Coastal Carolina, graduating with a bachelor's in physical education. He went on to play professional soccer in New Zealand, England, Scotland, and Australia, highlighted by earning four caps for the 1996 New Zealand national team during Olympic qualifying. He earned his master's in public service administration from the University of Evansville (IN) in 2007.
"We have everything necessary to be a true contender both regionally and nationally so I look forward to leading this team to success," continued Riddle. "I can assure Saints fans they will witness a structured, disciplined, organized unit on the field who will have very clear expectations of their individual and collective roles as we embark on what will be a fabulous journey."
