Head Men's Soccer Coach
Email: avital@tusculum.edu
Direct Line: 423-636-7496
Campus Phone: Ext. 5496
Campus Mail: P.O. Box 5062
Office: IPF
Department: Athletics
Campus or Site Location: Greeneville
Allen Vital is the men’s soccer coach at Tusculum.
Vital, a 1992 Tusculum graduate, returned to his alma mater in December, 2010 after 14 seasons as the head coach at Carson-Newman College. While at the Jefferson City, Tenn. school, Vital amassed one of finest coaching careers in South Atlantic Conference and NCAA Division II history. In his 14 seasons, he led the Eagles to an impressive 165-85-19 worksheet, which is the best coaching record at Carson-Newman, making him the second winningest coach in league history.
In his first year at Tusculum, Vital earned SAC Coach of the Year honors for the sixth time in his career after directing a youthful Pioneer squad to a second-place finish in the conference with a 6-1-2 record. It was the ninth time in his 15 years as a head coach that a Vital-led team has finished either first or second in the SAC. With a career record of 172-93-22, Vital ranks in the top 30 among active NCAA Division II coaches in both wins and winning percentage (.638).
Vital led the Eagles to eight South Atlantic Conference championships (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010) and seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009). He has been named SAC Coach of the Year six times (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011) and NCAA II Region Coach of the Year on two occasions (2003, 2005).
In 2010, Vital guided C-N to a 12-5-1 record, including 8-1 in the league to capture the program’s third straight SAC championship and seventh in the last eight seasons. It was also C-N’s eighth consecutive winning season with Vital’s teams going 115-31-14 (.763), including 49-6-4 in South Atlantic Conference play (.864) during that eight-year span.
Vital led the Eagles to one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2003 as Carson-Newman went 14-6-3 and 6-1 in league action to win their second SAC title in four years. The Eagles advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated two top 10 teams in UNC Pembroke and USC Spartanburg and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in school history. C-N lost a hard-fought match to eventual national champion Lynn University. The Eagles finished the season ranked 12th in the final D-II poll in 2003.
He followed that season with yet another successful campaign in 2004 as the Eagles won the SAC title again and was ranked as high as number one in the NSCAA Division II Pool during the season. Coach Vital was named SAC Coach of the Year and Tyler Baldock was selected the SAC Player of the Year as C-N went 17-2-1 for the program’s best winning percentage in school history (.875).
Vital and Baldock repeated those honors in 2005 as the Eagles went 18-2-2 for the most wins in school history as C-N finished the year ranked sixth in the nation. Carson-Newman captured the program’s third straight SAC Championship and its first Food Lion SAC Tournament title in school history. Vital and the Eagles followed with the first four-peat performance in SAC history as C-N posted a 14-2-2 worksheet in 2006 and finished the year ranked 15th in Division II.
C-N’s bid for a fifth straight league crown was halted in 2007, but the Eagles still finished the season ranked 13th in the country and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight year.
Vital guided the Eagles to a share of the 2008 league regular season title with Tusculum and followed with the program’s seventh and eighth league crowns in 2009 and 2010.
While at Carson-Newman, Vital mentored 57 All-Conference honorees, including 32 All-Region selections, three All-Americans (Tyler Baldock – three times, Thomas Ostvold, Dario Carrasco), two SAC Players of the Year (Tyler Baldock – twice, Dario Carrasco), one SAC Freshman of the Year (Omar Cooke) and one SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year (Arthur Garnes).
As a player, Vital garnered All-Conference honors as a freshman and sophomore at Lees-McRae as he led the Bobcats to a pair of NJCAA Region 10 Championships. He played the 1990 and 1991 campaigns at Tusculum, where he was selected to the NAIA All-District 24 both seasons. He led the Pioneers to a combined 26-16-2 record, while capturing the 1990 Tennessee Virginia Athletic Conference Championship and followed with the 1991 NAIA District title.
Vital spent three years as the Coordinator of Special Student Activities and Soccer Coach at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee. He holds an Advance National license by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Vital has been very active in youth soccer development throughout the State of Tennessee. He served for several years on the coaching staff of the East Tennessee Soccer Federation and is currently on the coaching staff of the Olympic Development Program for the State of Tennessee. Vital is also the director of coaching and player development for the Lakeway Soccer Club as well as the Star Soccer Academy of Morristown, Tenn.
Vital not only has an outstanding soccer resume, he is also a scholar. Along with a Business Administration degree from Tusculum, he minored in French and Art. Vital is trilingual, speaking English, French and Haitian Creole.
Vital and his wife, Christina (who earned her Masters degree from Tusculum in 1994), are the proud parents of three boys Devin Alain, Jean-Pierre and Remi.
Vital’s Year-by-Year Coaching Record
Year School Overall Pct. SAC Pct. SAC Finish
1997 Carson-Newman 6-9-0 .400 2-5-0 .286 7th
1998 Carson-Newman 6-12-0 .333 3-4-0 .429 6th
1999 Carson-Newman 12-7-2 .619 4-4-0 .500 T4th
2000 Carson-Newman 12-7-0 .632 6-1-0 .857 1st
2001 Carson-Newman 9-8-2 .526 2-4-1 .357 6th
2002 Carson-Newman 5-11-1 .324 2-5-0 .286 T6th
2003 Carson-Newman 14-6-3 .674 6-1-0 .857 1st
2004 Carson-Newman 17-2-1 .875 6-0-1 .929 1st
2005 Carson-Newman 18-2-2 .864 7-0-0 1.00 1st
2006 Carson-Newman 14-2-2 .833 5-0-1 .917 1st
2007 Carson-Newman 15-4-2 .762 4-2-1 .643 4th
2008 Carson-Newman 11-5-2 .667 6-1-1 .813 T1st
2009 Carson-Newman 14-5-1 .725 7-1-0 .875 1st
2010 Carson-Newman 12-5-1 .694 8-1-0 .888 T1st
2011 Tusculum 7-8-3 .472 6-1-2 .778 2nd
Totals 172-93-22 .638 75-30-7 .701