Women's Soccer 8/14/2023 10:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Mike Cook Announces 2023 Season Will Be His Last

Legendary Coach To Retire Following 25-Year Run Leading The Bronchos

EDMOND – UCO head women's soccer coach Mike Cook, the only coach in the 25-year history of the program, announced that the 2023 season will be his last.

"This is a bittersweet decision," Cook said. "I want to give God all the honor for helping this South American missionary kid find the perfect profession which has allowed me to be able to coach a game I love, but more importantly, be able to serve and have an impact on the lives of young student-athletes through their college career for so many great years. I'm thankful for every player that came through our program. It's always been my goal to not just coach soccer but to try to be a positive role model making a difference in their lives and giving them a well-rounded college experience while here at UCO."

The longest tenured employee in the UCO athletic department, Cook will officially retire May 31, 2024 after a quarter-century career with the Bronchos. He was hired to start the program in 1998, immediately put UCO on the map as one of the best teams in Division II, and compiled a 347-149-40 overall record in 24 seasons of play at UCO. Cook has 435 career wins when combining his record at Southern Nazarene, where he led that program to 88 wins in five years before coming to Central Oklahoma.

"Wins and losses are part of coaching, but being able to have a part in helping our student-athletes graduate and go out and find great jobs and be successful in life is the most satisfying part of coaching," Cook said.

UCO opened its fall training camp Monday morning. The Bronchos will go through a week of two-a-days before school starts, then finish out camp next week before the beginning of the 2023 regular season August 31 in Texas. UCO will play its first home match of the new season Saturday, Sept. 2 against Midwestern State at 7 p.m. at Tom Thompson Field on campus.

Cook will lead the Bronchos into his 24th season in year 25 – there was no season in 2020 due to the pandemic. Since the beginning in 1998, the Tradition of Excellence has been the standard at Central.

Cook has led UCO to 15 NCAA national tournament appearances. There have been 71 student-athletes earn all-conference honors a combined 125 times. There have been 48 student-athletes earn all-region honors a combined 84 times. And there have been 11 student-athletes earn All-American honors.

"While I can't thank everyone that has impacted my career, I definitely need to thank a few people who have been a part of this amazing journey," Cook added. "There is no way I could have done this job for so long without the love and support of my amazing wife Sandy and my great kids Cody, his wife Dani, and Taylor, and her husband, Jacob. I also need to thank everyone at Southern Nazarene that had a part in my life as a player, assistant coach, and then finally giving me my first opportunity to coach. I have had the privilege of working with incredible people here at UCO for over 25 years. This university has always supported me, and the soccer program. From the past presidents, athletic directors, administration, right down through all the faculty and staff that work so hard to make UCO such a great university.

"I can't thank former president Roger Webb enough for having the vision to start a soccer program and the confidence in hiring me along with former athletics director, Skip Wagnon," Cook continued. "They had the confidence to allow me to be the first coach and to get this program started. One of the most amazing things is that I have had the opportunity to work with Skip's son, Stan as Athletic Director for the last three years. He has done an amazing job in the short time he has been here and he has been fully supportive of the program and myself from day one."

Cook has coached 232 student-athletes in 24 years. That number will move up to 241 with this year's roster.

"It has been a privilege to be able to shape and mold this program from the start," Cook said. "I would like to say a special thanks to my amazing assistant for the last 17 years, Amel Muhamedagic, who has brought so much to our program with his work ethic and loyalty to all things UCO. I also want to thank all the amazing other coaches here at UCO now and over the years who have been friends, mentors and supportive of myself and our program over the years. I have been doing this for a long time, and now it is time to move on to a new chapter in life. Coaching is what I did but now I'm excited to see what new challenge God has lined up for me moving forward. I will forever be grateful and indebted to UCO for allowing me to have an amazing opportunity to be successful as a coach and a mentor for so many years."

Central Oklahoma will kickoff its 18-game 2023 schedule August 31 at Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas. The Bronchos have 10 home matches scheduled for this fall, including the opener on Sept. 2. UCO will play an 11-game MIAA schedule. The 2023 MIAA Championship is scheduled for November 3-11.

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