Scots Name Ashley Bingaman Head Women's Soccer Coach
Ashley Bingaman has been named the new women's soccer coach at Alma College. Bingaman joins the Scots from Elmira College in New York, where she has been Head Coach since 2010. Bingaman is a native of Petoskey, Michigan, where she graduated from high school in 2003.
"We are very happy to announce that Ashley Bingaman will be the next women's soccer coach at Alma College," says Interim Athletic Director Denny Griffin. "She has a successful history of recruiting players that fit the character and culture of our institution. She has a proven track record of running every aspect of a successful Division III program and she will bring fresh ideas to our department. Throughout the interview process, it became clear that Ashley was the right choice to continue the excellence of our women's soccer program."
In the five seasons as head coach at Elmira, Bingaman coached multiple Empire 8 All-Conference honorees and turned around a program that had a winning percentage of .265 to .531. Her squad qualified for the ECAC playoffs in 2014, culminating the most successful season for the program since 2004.
During her tenure with the Soaring Eagles, Bingaman coached 12 All-Conference players, five conference Players of the Week and her teams earned NSCAA Team Academic Awards all five seasons. In addition, her 2012 and 2014 teams won the NSCAA Team Ethics Silver Award.
"I am beyond excited to join the Alma College Athletic Department and lead the women's soccer program," says Bingaman. "It is a fantastic institution with high quality athletic programs and strong academics. The student athletes are passionate, hard-working and I am very proud to come into such a great program."
Before coaching at Elmira, she was Head Soccer Coach at Northland College (WI), her alma mater. Her role at Northland included the planning and administering of the total operation of the Division III program. During her tenure at Northland, Bingaman led the program to the best single season record in school history. In 2009, she was named Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and advanced her team to the UMAC tournament championship game for the first time in school history.
She takes over a program at Alma that has established itself as one of the premier teams in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Scots have finished third or higher in the league standings for seven consecutive seasons, including a trip to the NCAA playoffs in 2011.
"Competing in the MIAA is a great honor and I am looking forward to taking the Alma College Women's Soccer Team to the top," said Bingaman. "This team has had a taste of being in the NCAA's and I want to regularly compete to be in position for the National Tournament. I am very excited that this program continuously qualifies for the MIAA tournament; however the next step is to be in the MIAA finals and win. We have some great pieces to help get us there and with recruiting and player development, I believe this program will grow significantly."
At Northland, as a member of the Lumber Jills soccer team, Bingaman had a notable playing career. She was a four-year starter, two-year team captain, two-time All-UMAC selection, and a three-time UMAC All-Academic honoree. She is currently ranked sixth in the school's all-time career scoring list.
She graduated from Northland in 2007 with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology, Secondary Education and Coaching Minor. Bingaman then earned a Master's Degree in General Education at Elmira College in 2014.
Following her graduation, Bingaman served as the Assistant Women's and Men's Soccer Coach at Northland College, as well as Assistant Girls Soccer Coach at Ashland High School. Bingaman holds her National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Other coaching experience for Bingaman includes Petoskey (MI) Blizzard Club youth boys (2001-07), Ashland High School Girls Varsity assistant (2005-07), Northland College men's and women's assistant soccer coach (2007-08), Northland College women's basketball assistant coach (2008-09), Soaring Capital Soccer Club and Head Coach U-14 Girls Premier (2013-present). In addition, she has worked summer camps at St. Lawrence University (2011-14) and Cornell University (2013-15).
Bingaman is a graduate of the NCAA Women's Coaches Academy.
