Chris Logan

One of the Beavers’ most successful programs in NCAA history looks to be in good hands moving forward.

Minot State University’s(MSU) Vice President for Student Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics, Kevin Harmon, is pleased to introduce former University of North Dakota (UND) head man, Chris Logan, as the fourth head coach in the history of the MSU women’s soccer program.

“I am excited to bring Coach Logan to MSU,” Harmon said. “Chris was impressive throughout the search process, and he is someone who can lead our program to even more success at the conference and national levels. We believe we can be a program that can compete for a national championship, and Chris possesses the skill-set to help us achieve our program goals. Mr. Logan also will be an excellent fit culturally within our department. He treats others with respect and is a true professional. I can’t wait to see him working with our student-athletes!”

Logan begins his duties with the Beaver women’s soccer program on Monday, February 24.

“I’m really excited to be taking over the program,” Logan said after accepting the position Wednesday. “It’s a program with a rich tradition of success, and there certainly are some huge footsteps to fill, but I’m excited to continue that success.”

MSU’s program began in the fall of 2010 and has compiled a 154-92-38 all-time record that includes trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2018, along with winning the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) regular season championship in 2016 and the NSIC Tournament championship in 2012.

Logan has enjoyed plenty of success, spending the past nine seasons as an NCAA Division I coach, including the last eight seasons as the head women’s soccer coach at the UND where he compiled a 49-68-24 record, the most career wins by a head coach in Fighting Hawks’ history.

Taking over the program in 2017, Logan was named Big Sky Coach of the Year as UND went from just two wins the season before to a 6-8-4 record.

Joining the Summit League the following season, Logan guided his team to a 9-6-2 mark in 2018, and a 10-8-1 record in 2019. The 10-win season is the third-most single-season wins in program history.

During his time at UND, Logan also coached All-American Katie Moller (2017, 2018) and Academic All-American Olivia Swenson (2018).

Prior to taking over the Fighting Hawks program, Logan spent the 2016 season as the head coach at NCAA Division I Northern Iowa, leading the Panthers to an 8-8-3 record.

Key to that success has been Logan’s ability to adapt his team’s style of play to fit the talents of his players on the field, a factor that will dictate the style the Beavers play in the future.

“I think a lot of this depends on the makeup of the team and the personalities you have,” Logan said when asked what style of play fans can expect from MSU. “Throughout my career I’ve been blessed to coach a variety of teams that have had different strengths.How do we maximize the strengths we have? It’s going to be dictated by the attributes that we have.”

One thing MSU fans can expect, though, is for the Beavers to continue to be a stalwart on defense led by a former All-American goalkeeper himself as Logan’s collegiate coaching career began at Notre Dame College (Ohio) where he was the goalkeeper coach from 2003-06.

He then spent a season as goalkeeper coach at Lake Erie College (Ohio) before serving as an assistant for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams at Slippery Rock (Pa.) from 2007-11, including spending time as interim men’s head coach.

Logan also spent the 2011 season as the top assistant for the women’s program at the University of Pittsburgh, then spent four seasons at North Dakota State University, the final three as the associate head coach for the Bison women.

A native of Stoke-on-Trent, England, Logan played from 2002-06 at Notre Dame College where he was an All-American goalkeeper for the Falcons who won three conference championships and advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight in 2005. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Notre Dame in 2006 and his master’s degree in English Language and Literature from Slippery Rock in 2009.

Logan moves to Minot with his wife, Courtney, who is originally from Williston, and their 5-year-old son, Allister.

And while the Beavers’ new coach settles in with his family during the coming weeks, he also will address the immediate goals he faces taking over a MSU team that’s advanced to the NSIC Tournament title game twice in the last three seasons.

“I think there has been a strong tradition at Minot with soccer and I think we want to continue that tradition and keep building on it,” Logan said. “And we want to be the best version of ourselves that we can be; I think that’s going to be the goal for the program.”