Mike Cannon

Sport: Women's Soccer
Year: 17th Season
Position: Head Coach

Mike Cannon enters his 17th season at Truman in 2009 and is the most successful coach to lead the Bulldog program during its 24 years of existence.

With a career record of 216-76-27 (.719), Cannon is the winningest coach in Truman women’s soccer history and was ranked ninth in victories among all-time Division II coaches entering the 2008 fall season. During his tenure as coach, Cannon has had six players named to the all-American squad by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and landed 47 on all-region teams with 19 first-team selections.

When it comes to MIAA play, the Bulldogs have been the most dominant team in the league’s history, having won nearly 85% of their conference games by compiling a combined 94-14-12 record in ten seasons. Four players have been named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player, while an even 100 players have been named all-conference, an average of ten per season, since the league added women’s soccer as a conference sport in 1999.

In 2008, Cannon became only the ninth coach in Div. II women’s soccer history to win 200 matches when the Bulldogs dispatched Quincy (Ill.) 1-0 in the season opener. Later in the campaign, Truman advanced to the NCAA Div. II National Tournament’s second weekend for the first time since 2001 and host both Sweet 16 (a 2-1 win against Texas A&M-Commerce) and National Quarterfinal (a 1-0 loss to eventual National Champion Seattle (Wash. ) Pacific) matches at the Truman Soccer Park. That followed a first-round bye and a second-round 1-0 win in Canyon, Texas against MIAA-foe Washburn University.

Cannon’s teams have won eight of the ten MIAA titles the conference has offered and have been to the NCAA post-season seven times. His 2007 squad captured the MIAA conference tournament title in the only year of its existence after sharing the regular season championship.

He has been named MIAA Coach of the Year seven times - most recently in 2007 - and was the Central Region Coach of the Year in 2001.

Cannon's on-field team success can be matched by his players’ performance in the classroom as well. Two Bulldogs have been named academic all-Americans, while numerous players have been mentioned on the MIAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll.

From 2001-04, the Bulldogs compiled a record of 71-9-5 (.865), which is second best in the NCAA Division II during that period.

In 1997, he led the Bulldogs to their first playoff appearance and advanced the team to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals. That year, Cannon became Truman's winningest coach with a 3-0 win over Baker University on Sept. 27. He posted his 100th career victory in 2001 in a 3-0 defeat of MIAA rival Northwest Missouri.

Cannon was named head coach of the Bulldogs in 1993 after serving as an assistant coach for the Truman men’s soccer team in 1992. From 1988-91, Cannon played for Truman as a marking back and midfielder and was named the team’s most valuable player his senior year.

As a junior, he was selected as the Bulldogs' most improved player for his contribution during a campaign in which the men’s team qualified for the DII playoffs for the first time. During the summers of 1996 and 1997, Cannon spent time on the pitch as a defender for the Des Moines Menace of the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues (now called the United Soccer League). He was selected to play in the USISL all-star game in ‘96 and served as team captain in ‘97. Cannon’s efforts helped lead the Menace to the regional playoffs both years.

He graduated in 1992 from Truman with a bachelor’s degree in English.