Irvine's long road to Rhodes Field paying off

The small town of Hobbs, N.M., is most well known for being the home of the Soaring Society of America and the birthplace of Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy.

By 2005, Penn men’s soccer assistant coach Rob Irvine had grown tired of living in the small town of 30,000 people, more than 300 miles from Albuquerque, N.M., the closest large city.

Irvine had recently finished his second year as head coach of both the men’s and women’s soccer teams at the University of the Southwest, a school of just 900 students.

Over two seasons, he led the men’s team to a record of 22-14, receiving Red River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2004. Despite these accomplishments, the environment forced Irvine’s scope to be small.

“We had limited resources,” Irvine said. “But it taught me to do a lot with a little.”

Enter Dean Foti, the head coach at Syracuse University, where Irvine had both played and served as a graduate assistant.

After hearing that Penn was searching for an assistant of its own, Foti called Quakers’ coach Rudy Fuller to throw Irvine’s name into the discussion.

“He told me that Rob was the guy I was looking for,” Fuller said.

Although Fuller already had a short list of candidates for the postion, he decided to look into Irvine, who did not balk at the opportunity.

“The difference between New Mexico and Philadelphia, or even Syracuse, is apples and oranges,” Irvine said. “I wanted to return to Division I, but I also needed to get back to civilization.”

Irvine, though, failed to make the best first impression on Fuller.

“He lost his luggage and we had to run around the airport and get it back,” Fuller joked. “But once we finally got to talking, within 15 or 20 minutes, I knew I had my guy.”

Now in his sixth year with the Quakers, Irvine has firmly established his place within the program.

“It’s like having another head coach on the team,” Fuller said. “If I ever had to miss a training session, or, God forbid, a game, I’d have no problem leaving Rob in charge.”

Irvine and Fuller have proven to complement each other quite nicely.

“Rob does all the little things,” Fuller said. “Whether it be making hotel reservations, or anything that I could forget about, Rob’s always there.”

Irvine’s best attribute may be his attention to detail.

“Every team around the nation compiles scouting reports, and Rob is the reason why ours are the most comprehensive,” Fuller explained. “The job Rob does allows us to have such specific training sessions and for our players to be as aware as possible.”

Eventually, Irvine would like to become a head coach at the D-I level, and he’s in a good position — two former Fuller assistants have moved on to take head positions.

Until that time, Irvine is simply glad to be back in civilization.

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