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Physical. Tough. Hard-nosed. Stingy. Those are just a few of the adjectives that could be used to describe Kentucky men's soccer head coach Ian Collins' teams. Now entering his 15th season at the helm of the program, one word stands out among all others when describing Collins' teams - winners. A three-time conference coach of the year, Collins has transformed the UK program into an annual contender from the ground up, taking over in 1994 and running up 168 career wins and a winning percentage hovering just under 60 percent.  The Collins File Birthdate: April 14, 1963 Coaching Honors
Coaching highlights
Known for having teams at UK that utilize a stingy, shutdown defense, Collins' clubs take on the personality of its coach, showcasing a emphasis on physicality, toughness and a never-quit attitude. Collins, a native of Bridge North, England, came to UK after spending three years at St. John's University in Jamaica, N.Y. Since arriving, Collins has formed Kentucky into a run-away powerhouse in the Mid-American Conference and an annual contender in the rugged Conference USA. Collins paced UK through a decade of dominance in the MAC, posting a 44-13-4 record from 1995-2004, winning a staggering 75 percent of its contests and a total of seven regular season and tournament titles. After solidifying itself as the team-to-beat in the MAC, Collins oversaw a critical transition into C-USA for Kentucky in 2004. Since the transition, Collins hasn't allowed the program to do anything but win, winning 70 percent of its league matches and finishing among the top three in the conference for three of four seasons in the league. In a conference packed with mid-continent titans SMU and Tulsa, Kentucky has stepped right into the fray, finishing second in the C-USA regular season in 2006 and 2008, posting a third-place finish in 2007 - a season that saw the UK team crippled with injury. After a 3-4-2 league run in 2005, UK's first season in the conference, Collins guided UK to a stellar 2006 campaign. In 2006, the Wildcats won 14 games, their second highest total ever and finished in second place in C-USA -- one point behind SMU, which was ranked No. 1 all season long. Along with the wins in 2006 came national recognition as UK returned to the top 25 after a one-year absence, reaching as high as No. 13, the best in school annals. Kentucky also returned to dominance at home in 2006, posting a school-record 10-1 mark at the UK Soccer Complex in 2006, including a stunning 1-0 double-overtime victory over sixth-ranked South Carolina. The Wildcats were the third-most improved team in the nation during the 2006 campaign, going 14-5-2 after a 6-7-6 campaign in 2005. However, that year, while not up to Kentucky standards, a young UK squad suffered six one-goal losses, including two in overtime. After losing two of the more prolific offensive players in the history of the program to professional soccer in 2006, Collins was faced with one of the more challenging coaching jobs of his career in 2007, as UK was hit with a crippling injury bug, losing as many as 14 players from the regular-playing rotation. Collins was left to pick up the pieces, turning future All-American defender Barry Rice into one of UK's lone goal-scoring threats on set pieces and grinding out a 5-3, third-place finish in the league, including the first win over a top-ranked team in school annals, a come-from behind 2-1 win over No. 1 SMU. Enter the 2008 season and another amazing coaching job from Collins, as the Wildcats posted 12 wins and a final No. 21 national ranking. Collins directed UK to a second-place finish in the conference, going 6-1-1 and advancing to the championship game of the C-USA Tournament. After falling behind early, UK rallied to even the game and force the decisive penalty kicks, eventually losing 4-2 in penalties. Despite the penalty-kick decider, UK ended the season on a school-record 10-match unbeaten streak and when the NCAA selection committee made its picks the following Monday, UK was the only team ranked in the top 25 to not get a dancing card. With the disappointment of the finale to the 2008 season comes a sense of excitement for the 2009 campaign, as the trio of captains that led UK to 12 wins a year ago return with hopes of punching UK's dance ticket in November. While the teams coached by Collins over the last two decades have had a lot of success, his individual tutelage has shined bright, with a total of three players earning All-America honors - including Rice, a 2008 second-team selection. A total of 29 players have earned All-Region honors since 1994 and since UK joined C-USA in 2005, 19 players have earned All-Conference USA recognition. While in the MAC, 44 of Collins' student-athletes earned All-MAC accolades, directing three players to MAC Player of the Year honors. In addition to producing outstanding teams, Collins has shaped outstanding student-athletes as well. Collins' players have excelled in the classroom, resulting in 44 MAC Academic Honor Roll and 111 Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll selections - since 1998 - as well as four academic All-Americans. Since joining C-USA in 2005, 67 student-athletes have earned C-USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll accolades. Three times since 2005, UK soccer has been honored as the top academic athletic team at the annual Kentucky CATSPY Awards and four times since 2000 UK has been awarded the NSCAA Team Academic Award. A year-by-year breakdown of UK dominance under Collins in the MAC is impressive. In 2004, he led the Wildcats to their fourth MAC championship in five years. Kentucky's dominance was evident by the seven players named all-conference that season, led by Player of the Year Jamal Shteiwi. At 11-5-3, UK registered its eighth straight 10-win season. Collins coached Shteiwi to his second consecutive Player of the Year honor, a first in MAC history. Shteiwi also became the second Wildcat to earn All-America honors under Collins tutelage as both collegesoccernews.com and the NSCAA recognized him. In 2004, the UK defense also proved to be one of the best in the nation. The Wildcats held their final 17 opponents of the year to one goal or fewer. It is the longest such streak in school annals. In 2003, Kentucky put together arguably its most successful season in the program's young history. The Wildcats asserted their dominance in the MAC by posting a 6-0-0 regular season conference record, only the fourth team in league history to finish with an unblemished season. Even more impressive during the season was the fact that Kentucky shut out each of its six league foes in that span. As a team, the Cats finished ninth in the nation with an 0.68 goals against average and its 10 shutouts ranks second in school annals. Since 1999, the Wildcats have won four conference championships, three conference tournament titles and made four trips to the NCAA Tournament. However, Collins has been recognized for his excellent coaching ability since before he had UK regularly winning championships. In 1997, he was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the first time after leading the Wildcats to a second-place finish in the league. In 1999, Collins earned his second MAC Coach of the Year award and was also named the NSCAA Mideast Region Coach of the Year. That season, he guided Kentucky to the MAC Tournament championship and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. In a heartbreaker, the Wildcats pushed defending national champion Indiana to the brink before falling in double overtime. Collins led Kentucky to its first regular-season MAC championship in 2000 while repeating as tournament champs. UK completed the incredible season in the Sweet 16 after advancing past No. 9 St. Louis in the NCAA Tournament. In 2001, the Wildcats provided Collins with the team's highest offensive output since 1995, nearly breaking a school record for points with 125 on 39 goals and a school-record 47 assists. UK finished the year with a 14-6-1 record, its first undefeated MAC season, its third straight MAC tourney title as well as another berth in the NCAA tourney. Collins received his third MAC Coach of the Year Award for his efforts. Arriving in the Bluegrass as an assistant coach in 1992, Collins has been a part of the Wildcat family for 15 of its 17 years. He spent two seasons as assistant for former head coach Sam Wooten before taking over the reins prior to the 1994 campaign. In just his second season, Collins led the Wildcats to a school-record 16 wins, including a victory over established powerhouse Indiana. Two years later, Collins' Kentucky squad posted a 12-7-2 overall record, including a 2-1 triumph over rival Bowling Green in front of more than 3,000 fans at the UK Soccer Complex. Prior to coming to Lexington and as the top assistant at St. Johns, Collins was involved with all areas of coaching the Red Storm, including allocation of scholarship and recruiting funds. He was directly responsible for a daily training schedule and developed team techniques and tactics. After coming to the United States in 1986 from Great Britain, a 22-year-old Collins became the youngest head coach in Division I soccer when he accepted the head coaching job at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. During his playing days, Collins earned a spot on the English School Boy Under-18 National Team. Collins also spent three years in the Northeast Professional Soccer League. In January 1993, Collins was awarded the Robert McNulty Award as the outstanding coaching candidate at the United States Soccer Federation Coaching School. In January 1994, Collins earned his USSF "A" coaching license, and he also holds a NSCAA Premier Diploma. Two summers ago, Collins spent time in Europe attending the UEFA "A" course. Collins spent three years in New York working as a stockbroker on Wall Street, and in 1990, he earned his real estate sales license. A graduate of Bridge North Endowed High School in England, Collins attended Crewe and Alsager College (Cheshire, England) and received his HNC degree in business finance in 1985. Born April 14, 1963, Collins and his wife Jenny have two children, Jack and Victoria. They reside in Lexington, Ky. Year-by-Year at Kentucky
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