In his 25th year, Brian Harvey is the only head coach the Oklahoma City University soccer program has ever had since the men’s program began in 1986 and the women started in 1994. The coaching veteran has forged an unmatched record, recording the most men’s and women’s wins in NAIA history.
Harvey added hall of famer to his extensive resume in 2009. Harvey became a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Soccer Association Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma City University Athletics Hall of Fame.
OCU has reached the 2001 NAIA women’s national championship match, the 1999 and 2000 NAIA women’s semifinals and the 1991 NAIA men’s championships and the 2008 NAIA men’s semifinals under Harvey’s direction. His 1999 women’s team went 24-2, and the men recorded a 23-2-1 season in 2001. OCU has won the Sooner Athletic Conference nine times in men’s play and eight times in women’s play.
Harvey has coached 25 NAIA men’s all-Americans, 20 NAIA men’s scholar-athlete award winners, 25 women’s all-Americans and 28 NAIA women’s scholar-athletes. Among those all-Americans, Harvey pupils Richard Benigno, Dino Deleveski, Andy Taylor and Tim Treviño each turned professional.
Harvey was named 1999 NAIA Region VI men’s and women’s coach of the year and 1991 Arkansas-Oklahoma coach of the year. He has been conference coach of the year 12 times, including the men’s and women’s SAC coach of the year last year.
Prior to OCU, Harvey was head coach of the Oklahoma City Slickers, an American Professional Soccer League team that he took to the 1982 Soccer Bowl played before 42,000 at the Silverdome in Detroit. He led the Oklahoma City Spirit to the 1990 Lone Star Soccer Alliance championship. He also coached Oklahoma City and Tulsa in the United Soccer League and the Oklahoma City teams of the U.S. Interregional Soccer League.
Harvey has been tireless in developing youth soccer players, coaching in the U.S. Youth Soccer Region III Olympic development program for 10 years as well as coaching club programs and conducting his American Youth Soccer Camps. He has been named Region III boys competitive coach of the year in 2007 and Oklahoma girls competitive coach in 2002. Harvey guided the Dallas Club America to the 1979 Notis Cup title. Many other players have been influenced through former OCU players who have become coaches themselves, including Oklahoma coach Nicole Nelson.
A native of Liverpool, England, Harvey graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1966 with a degree in physical education. He played soccer professionally in Australia, China, England and the United States. Harvey first came to the United States to play for the Dallas Tornadoes in the North American Soccer League. He played against the legendary Pele at Hong Kong in 1972.
Harvey has a daughter, Nicole, who played for OCU in 2001-04 and served as Harvey’s student assistant in 2005.
