More Than Wins: A Feature on How Jeremy Gunn Created 'Durango Soccer'
RMAC Media Relations
This is the sixth profile of six individuals being inducted into the 2019 RMAC Hall of Fame on Friday, July 12 at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel. The 2005 Fort Lewis Men's Soccer Team will also be inducted. Click here to read the features on Kate (Murphy) Avila, Frank Gross, Frank Christensen, Tom Beeson, and Kristin (Shern) Bailey.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to become the most winningest coach in program history? It takes passion, intensity, and humility, which are some of the characteristics Dr. Dan Freigang used to describe former Fort Lewis College (FLC) men’s head soccer coach, Jeremy Gunn.
Jeremy joined Fort Lewis in 1999 and would remain the head coach for eight seasons.
“…He gets an idea in his head [and] things happen,” said Freigang. “…the courage and passion that Jeremy brought to his everyday persona [showed] a guy who was not afraid of anything.”
The lack of fear and persistence to succeed earned Jeremy and the Skyhawks three trips to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II national championship game in 1999, 2005 and 2006, as well as a national championship title in 2005.
Throughout eight seasons, Jeremy compiled a 123-35-17 record (.751), won five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Regular Season titles (2001, 2003-2006), five RMAC Tournament titles (1999-2001, 2005-2006), and made five NCAA Tournament appearances. Jeremy was a five-time RMAC Coach of the Year, a two-time United Soccer Coaches (formerly National Soccer Coaches Association of America) Midwest Region Coach of the Year, and in 2005, he was named the National Coach of the Year after having an undefeated season (22-0-1).
Aside from his accolades, Freigang expressed how Jeremy’s leadership won over several prospective student-athletes and the Durango community.
“Jeremy was really good at bringing guys in,” said Freigang. “We had people all over the world come to Durango to be in that [cultural] experience…Not only did Fort Lewis win, not only did the team win the championship, but we transformed a community - Durango soccer is famous.”
After selecting his teams, Jeremy instilled a ‘brotherhood’ environment and took each student-athlete under his guidance.
“One of the things that Jeremy honed at The Fort was to get everyone going, to make everyone feel important, that they had a role to play,” recalls Freigang. “This jersey is important, but it is really just a symbol of how we lived every day. It’s a symbol of the culture that we had. Our culture was unafraid, it broke barriers [and] we pushed…The jersey represented what was inside all of us, what Jeremy represented [and] what he brought to the table.”
Jeremy did nothing less than break barriers during his tenure at Fort Lewis. He became the most winningest coach in program history and never once had a losing season as teams posted at least double-digit victories in seven of the seasons, with the other being a nine-win.
After Fort Lewis, Jeremy spent five seasons at University of Charlotte from 2007 to 2011. He led the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the championship match of the 2011 College Cup. In 2012, Gunn transitioned to Stanford where he remains the men’s head soccer coach. With the Cardinals, he has produced three NCAA Division I national championship titles and four Pac-12 titles. Today, he is one-of-four coaches to win NCAA titles at Division I and Division II institutions.
Jeremy will be honored at the 2019 RMAC Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet on Friday, July 12 at the Colorado Springs Marriott. To purchase tickets online and for more information, visit
www.RMACSPORTS.org/HOF2019.