South Florida’s First Men’s Soccer Coach Dan Holcomb Honored by Tampa Bay Soccer Hall of Fame
August 14, 2026 | Men's Soccer
Holcomb led the Bulls through 22 winning seasons from their inaugural season in 1965 through 1986, compiling a 216-86-22 record
Joey Johnston/Athletics Senior Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (August 14, 2026) – In 22 years, he never had a losing season. In 1965, he was head coach for the first intercollegiate athletic event in University of South Florida history. And in the Tampa Bay area, he helped introduce soccer to young players and adult fans as the sport became part of the community's fabric.
Dan Holcomb, South Florida's original men's soccer coach, was a pioneer.
Fittingly, Holcomb was honored Thursday night posthumously during the second annual Tampa Bay Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony and awards dinner at Higgins Hall. Holcomb, who died in 2024 at age 90, received the TBSHOF's Pioneer Award, which is presented annually to an "individual who has shown outstanding support to further soccer's progress in the Tampa Bay area.''
"Dan would've been really proud and honored by this,'' said Holcomb's widow, Joyce, who traveled from Springfield, Mo., to attend the ceremony along with one of his three daughters, Melinda Burnham (and husband Wes), plus three of his grandchildren, Bryce, Alyssa and Floyd Burnham.
As the tributes to Holcomb were read and a montage of photos was shown, Bryce Burnham wore his grandfather's ring from the 2010 induction into the South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame.
"I mean, just imagine that it's 1965 and you've been hired as not only the first soccer coach in USF history, but the first coach (of any sport) in USF history,'' said former Bulls player Kevin Eagan, who played in the North American Soccer League with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, New York Cosmos and Tulsa Roughnecks. "Once you get over the shock and excitement of a new job in a new city, the reality sets in.
"You realize you have to build a soccer program from scratch. I mean, you've got to build a soccer field. You've got to buy balls, nets, goals, uniforms. You've got to call around to some school and find out first, in fact, if they had a soccer team, then if they wanted to be on USF's schedule. You had to find players and train them. It sounds so daunting to me. But from those humble beginnings, Coach Holcomb built a nationally ranked powerhouse program.''
Holcomb's Bulls were 216-86-22 with 24 postseason victories, a .701 winning percentage (top 30 all-time in NCAA Division I men's soccer), eight conference championships and two league Coach of the Year awards.
Beyond the numbers, his daughters presented the most meaningful tributes to Holcomb in the TBSHOF event program.
"For my dad, soccer was always about more than winning games … it was about people and possibilities,'' wrote Dr. Leigh Holcomb. "A pioneer doesn't simply succeed within the world as it exists. A pioneer helps create what comes next. My father helped create what came next for soccer in Tampa Bay. His impact lives on through a soccer community that continues to grow and flourish.''
"I do view my dad as a pioneer of soccer in Tampa Bay,'' wrote Melinda Burnham. "He had to build the soccer program from scratch. I remember the traveling he did to recruit players and going to games when the university had a field and no stands. I remember helping to serve meals to the team to help give them a sense of home when many had come from far away to play soccer in Tampa.''
"Many people knew my father as a coach — with a loud voice and an even louder whistle — but fewer knew that could actually be quite shy,'' wrote Kristin Holcomb Johnson. "Yet the moment soccer entered the conversation, everything changed. His face lit up, his energy became contagious, and his passion was unmistakable. It was as though the game unlocked the very best parts of who he was.''
Beyond Holcomb's special award, two former South Florida players were inducted as part of the TBSHOF's nine-person Class of 2026.
That included Bob Bauman, who won five state championships (and a mythical national title) as Jesuit High School's head coach, and Tom Fitzgerald, head coach of the University of Tampa's 1994 NCAA Division II national championship team and UCLA's 2001 NCAA Division I national championship team. Fitzgerald, killed in a 2004 motorcycle accident, was inducted posthumously.
Also inducted was former Rowdies owner Cornelia Corbett, a noted philanthropist whose $1.5-million gift led to the 2011 opening of South Florida's on-campus Corbett Soccer Stadium.
Other inductees: former Rowdies goalkeeper Winston DuBose, NCAA scoring champion and Women's World Cup winner Danielle Fotopoulos, former sportscaster and Rowdies public-address announcer Dick Crippen, high-school state-champion coach Ray DiPompo, longtime coach and trainer Steve Gogas and referee Bob Heilmann.
Follow South Florida Men's Soccer
For the latest updates from South Florida Baseball, visit GoUSFBulls.com. Follow the Bulls on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Get your tickets today!
Call 1-800-GO-BULLS (1-800-462-8557) or email BullsTickets@usf.edu to claim your season or single-game tickets. You can also download the South Florida Bulls app on the Android or Apple stores to purchase tickets and parking. Visit USFBullsTix.com for more information.
About South Florida Men's Soccer
The oldest varsity athletic program at South Florida, men's soccer competed in the school's first-ever intercollegiate athletic contest on Sept. 25, 1965, beating Florida Southern 4-3.
The Bulls have claimed 14 conference championships and made 22 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three trips to the Elite Eight. The program boasts 31 MLS draft picks, including two-time MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham, 1994 World Cup Team USA star Roy Wegerle, and 2013 MLS Cup winner Dom Dwyer. Three men's soccer alumni and one coach have been inducted into the South Florida Athletics Hall of Fame: Fergus Hopper, Jeff Attinella, Jeff Cunningham & Dan Holcomb.
On Dec. 10, 2025, head coach George Kiefer was hired for his second tenure at South Florida. Kiefer previously led the Bulls from 2002-16, compiling one of the most successful stretches in program history as the Bulls went 162-86-51 (.627), earned four conference championships, and made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Under Kiefer, South Florida advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2008 and 2011. His six NCAA Tournament victories remain the most in program history, and his win total ranks second all-time among South Florida head coaches.
Dan Holcomb, South Florida's original men's soccer coach, was a pioneer.
Fittingly, Holcomb was honored Thursday night posthumously during the second annual Tampa Bay Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony and awards dinner at Higgins Hall. Holcomb, who died in 2024 at age 90, received the TBSHOF's Pioneer Award, which is presented annually to an "individual who has shown outstanding support to further soccer's progress in the Tampa Bay area.''
"Dan would've been really proud and honored by this,'' said Holcomb's widow, Joyce, who traveled from Springfield, Mo., to attend the ceremony along with one of his three daughters, Melinda Burnham (and husband Wes), plus three of his grandchildren, Bryce, Alyssa and Floyd Burnham.
As the tributes to Holcomb were read and a montage of photos was shown, Bryce Burnham wore his grandfather's ring from the 2010 induction into the South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame.
"I mean, just imagine that it's 1965 and you've been hired as not only the first soccer coach in USF history, but the first coach (of any sport) in USF history,'' said former Bulls player Kevin Eagan, who played in the North American Soccer League with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, New York Cosmos and Tulsa Roughnecks. "Once you get over the shock and excitement of a new job in a new city, the reality sets in.
"You realize you have to build a soccer program from scratch. I mean, you've got to build a soccer field. You've got to buy balls, nets, goals, uniforms. You've got to call around to some school and find out first, in fact, if they had a soccer team, then if they wanted to be on USF's schedule. You had to find players and train them. It sounds so daunting to me. But from those humble beginnings, Coach Holcomb built a nationally ranked powerhouse program.''
Holcomb's Bulls were 216-86-22 with 24 postseason victories, a .701 winning percentage (top 30 all-time in NCAA Division I men's soccer), eight conference championships and two league Coach of the Year awards.
Beyond the numbers, his daughters presented the most meaningful tributes to Holcomb in the TBSHOF event program.
"For my dad, soccer was always about more than winning games … it was about people and possibilities,'' wrote Dr. Leigh Holcomb. "A pioneer doesn't simply succeed within the world as it exists. A pioneer helps create what comes next. My father helped create what came next for soccer in Tampa Bay. His impact lives on through a soccer community that continues to grow and flourish.''
"I do view my dad as a pioneer of soccer in Tampa Bay,'' wrote Melinda Burnham. "He had to build the soccer program from scratch. I remember the traveling he did to recruit players and going to games when the university had a field and no stands. I remember helping to serve meals to the team to help give them a sense of home when many had come from far away to play soccer in Tampa.''
"Many people knew my father as a coach — with a loud voice and an even louder whistle — but fewer knew that could actually be quite shy,'' wrote Kristin Holcomb Johnson. "Yet the moment soccer entered the conversation, everything changed. His face lit up, his energy became contagious, and his passion was unmistakable. It was as though the game unlocked the very best parts of who he was.''
Beyond Holcomb's special award, two former South Florida players were inducted as part of the TBSHOF's nine-person Class of 2026.
That included Bob Bauman, who won five state championships (and a mythical national title) as Jesuit High School's head coach, and Tom Fitzgerald, head coach of the University of Tampa's 1994 NCAA Division II national championship team and UCLA's 2001 NCAA Division I national championship team. Fitzgerald, killed in a 2004 motorcycle accident, was inducted posthumously.
Also inducted was former Rowdies owner Cornelia Corbett, a noted philanthropist whose $1.5-million gift led to the 2011 opening of South Florida's on-campus Corbett Soccer Stadium.
Other inductees: former Rowdies goalkeeper Winston DuBose, NCAA scoring champion and Women's World Cup winner Danielle Fotopoulos, former sportscaster and Rowdies public-address announcer Dick Crippen, high-school state-champion coach Ray DiPompo, longtime coach and trainer Steve Gogas and referee Bob Heilmann.
Follow South Florida Men's Soccer
For the latest updates from South Florida Baseball, visit GoUSFBulls.com. Follow the Bulls on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Get your tickets today!
Call 1-800-GO-BULLS (1-800-462-8557) or email BullsTickets@usf.edu to claim your season or single-game tickets. You can also download the South Florida Bulls app on the Android or Apple stores to purchase tickets and parking. Visit USFBullsTix.com for more information.
About South Florida Men's Soccer
The oldest varsity athletic program at South Florida, men's soccer competed in the school's first-ever intercollegiate athletic contest on Sept. 25, 1965, beating Florida Southern 4-3.
The Bulls have claimed 14 conference championships and made 22 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three trips to the Elite Eight. The program boasts 31 MLS draft picks, including two-time MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham, 1994 World Cup Team USA star Roy Wegerle, and 2013 MLS Cup winner Dom Dwyer. Three men's soccer alumni and one coach have been inducted into the South Florida Athletics Hall of Fame: Fergus Hopper, Jeff Attinella, Jeff Cunningham & Dan Holcomb.
On Dec. 10, 2025, head coach George Kiefer was hired for his second tenure at South Florida. Kiefer previously led the Bulls from 2002-16, compiling one of the most successful stretches in program history as the Bulls went 162-86-51 (.627), earned four conference championships, and made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Under Kiefer, South Florida advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2008 and 2011. His six NCAA Tournament victories remain the most in program history, and his win total ranks second all-time among South Florida head coaches.
Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
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