Hall of Fame
Aydin Gonulsen was named the first Athletic Director and Head Soccer Coach at Sangamon State University in 1976. He proceeded to build the men's soccer program literally from the ground up, from recruiting the very first student-athletes (with no housing available at the time) to laying the sod on the existing soccer stadium.
In 1977, Gonulsen and other dedicated friends of the university began building the soccer program by transforming a cornfield on the SSU campus into the university's first soccer field.
As a coach in the NAIA, Gonulsen amassed around 400 career victories and three national championships in 1986, 1988 and 1993. His teams made over 20 appearances in the NAIA national tournament. During his tenure, the Prairie Stars participated in the World Collegiate Soccer Championships twice and one European Collegiate Championship, finishing in second place after defeating UCLA in the quarterfinals in 1988.
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