Dustin Gallagher, former UW-Oshkosh men’s soccer player, was named as the third head coach in program history on May 26.
“It’s a great day to be a Titan,” Gallagher said. “I want to sincerely thank (Chancellor) Manohar Singh and (Assistant Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics) Darryl Sims for the opportunity to lead this historic program into a new era.”
Gallagher is tasked with leading the program into its first season of competition in more than a decade in 2027. The program was reinstated as a university offered sport on Feb. 16 after being discontinued following the 2015 season.
“Men’s soccer is woven into the fabric of UW-Oshkosh Athletics history,” Darryl Sims, assistant chancellor for intercollegiate athletics at UWO, said during a press conference on Feb. 16. “Its return is more than just the relaunch of a sport, it is the revival of a proud championship tradition, a renewed promise to past and future student-athletes, and a moment of great excitement for our campus and community.”
A defender originally from Mukwonago, Gallagher appeared in 57 matches, and started in 42 of them under UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame member Toby Bares.
While on the team, Gallagher and the Titans posted a 59-13-6 record and made three appearances in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
Gallagher plans to reinstate the culture that his former head coach implemented into the program back in 1984.
“I witnessed firsthand the culture coach Bares created through his mantra: ‘Believe-Inspire-Achieve,’” Gallagher said. “He believed in his players, inspired us to pursue excellence, and together we achieved incredible things through hard work, commitment and unity. Those values will continue to serve as the foundation of this program moving forward.”
Gallagher pursued his master’s degree at Oshkosh and assisted both Bares and head women’s soccer coach Erin Coppernoll, before having coaching stints across various collegiate levels.
Outside of collegiate soccer, Gallagher served in a director role within the United Soccer League’s Colorado Springs Switchbacks and FC Cincinnati, in addition to numerous youth clubs.
For the past five seasons, Gallagher served as the head women’s soccer coach at Mount St. Joseph (Ohio), accumulating a 55-31-15 record, three Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) regular season titles, one tournament title and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA D-III Championship Tournament. He is also the HCAC’s two-time reigning coach of the year.
“During his five years at the Mount, Coach Gallagher and his teams represented the University and Division III athletics at the highest level, both athletically and academically,” Mount St. Joseph Vice President and Director of Athletics Melanee Wagener said in a statement to the Advance-Titan on May 26. “The MSJ women’s soccer program is in a better place today than it was when Coach Gallagher took over five years ago. We would like to thank him for his tireless devotion to Mount St. Joseph University and its student-athletes, and we wish him nothing but success as he returns home to his alma mater to rebuild a program he once starred in as a student-athlete himself.”
When men’s soccer takes the field in 2027, it will inherit a 423-122-55 all-time record, two WIAC conference titles and 14 NCAA tournament appearances.
Gallagher said he feels pride to represent the past, and to return to a campus that changed his life.
“As an alumnus, I take tremendous pride and responsibility in representing the over 300 former players, coaches and friends of UW-Oshkosh men’s soccer who built this program over the past four decades,” Gallagher said. “25 years ago, I stepped onto this campus (UWO) as a student-athlete, and that experience changed my life forever. UW-Oshkosh opened doors I never imagined possible and helped to shape the person, player, and coach I am today.”
