Jan. 17, 2003

ABILENE, Texas - Dan Heger, a Hardin-Simmons graduate, has been named the ninth men's soccer coach at his alma mater, it was announced today by HSU's Athletic Director John Neese.

"With Dan's recent success not only at McMurry, but also on the high school level, he quickly came to the top of our list," Neese said. "He has a number high school contacts in Texas after being the president of its coaches' association and those contacts should help his recruiting efforts at HSU. We are always glad to see when one of our own is interested in coming back home."

Heger comes to the Cowboys from cross-town rival McMurry, where he started its program two years ago. He led the Indians to the American Southwest Conference Tournament in each of his two seasons. Heger was 20-14-2 at McMurry, after building the program from scratch.

Prior to that Heger had been a respected high school coach at Temple High School, where his teams earned 13 straight playoff appearances and six trips to at least the regional round. He was also the President of the Texas High School Soccer Coaches Association. Heger won several district and regional coach of the year awards at Temple.

Heger started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Hardin-Simmons in 1988 and then coached at Mary Hardin-Baylor for one season in 1989, before his 13-year stint at Temple. He earned a bachelor's of science from Hardin-Simmons in 1985.

A native of Pennsylvania, Heger was a player for the Cowboys in 1979, earning first-team All-Trans America Athletic Conference honors. He played at Park College, prior to coming to Hardin-Simmons, where he was an NAIA All-American.

Heger played professionally with the North American Soccer League's Detroit Express and the San Diego Shockers. He also played for the Waco Kickers. Heger played club soccer on the V.E. European Tour.

Heger replaces Kevin Wardlaw, who resigned last month to take a similar position at Mid-America Nazarene in his hometown of Olathe, Kan.

--- HSU ATHLETICS ---