Chris Cissell spent 12 seasons as the head coach of the men’s and women’s soccer programs where he posted a career record of 282-106-22. He also led the Cardinals to eight conference championships and nine national tournament appearances including three trips to the final four. Those three trips, two with men’s and one with women’s, made him the only college soccer coach in history to take a men’s and women’s program that far in the national tournament.
Named the women’s head coach prior to the 1999 season, Cissell took over a Jewell program that held an all-time record 9-91-2 in seven seasons. He quickly turned the program around, finishing 15-6-0 in his second season and 18-2-0 in his third season, including a conference championship and a Sweet 16 appearance in the national tournament.
It took just two seasons at the forefront of the men’s program to lead the team to a conference championship after winning just nine total matches in the previous three seasons combined.
In his time at Jewell, Cissell earned numerous accolades, including seven Conference coach of the Year awards, four Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors, three National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Adidas Midwest Coach of the Year award, three-time National Coach of the Year finalist and one NSCAA/Adidas Men’s National Coach of the Year award. Two of his women's teams from 2003 and 2006 have also been inducted into Jewell's Hall of Fame.
Prior to becoming the coach, Cissell was a standout player on the pitch for Jewell. He was a four-year starter from 1990-94 and was a three-time most valuable player. He was ahe team captain, earned first-team all-conference honors twice, and was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) Offensive Player of the Year as a senior.
