Molly Grisham enters her third season in the fall of 2015 as the head women's soccer coach.
Just the second coach in program history, Grisham comes to UIS from Wayne State College in Nebraska after leading the Wildcats the previous four years.
While at Wayne State, Grisham marked improvements on and off the field each year. Under her watch, seven student-athletes were named to NSIC All-Conference squads, while 26 players earned NSIC Academic All-Conference honors.
In 2010, Grisham earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Coach of the Year honors after the team recorded its first winning season since 2005. That same season, the program had just its second-ever athlete selected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Region team. With a strong emphasis on success in the classroom, Grisham had three teams earn NSCAA Academic honors, while improving the overall team grade-point average each season.
Grisham gained international coaching experience in the summer of 2010 leading the USA Athletes International Women's Soccer Team in a trip to face club and collegiate teams in Argentina.
Prior to Wayne State, Grisham served for one season as an assistant coach at Ottawa University in Kansas where she helped coach the team to a 14-5-1 record while placing second in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference at 7-2. Grisham also served as the head coach at the University School of Nashville in Tennessee where she led the team to the state high school semifinals. She also taught classes at Nashville State Community College and was the soccer coach, assistant athletic director and teacher at St. Cecilia Academy in Nashville.
A native of Chatham, Ill., Grisham played soccer at one of Illinois Springfield's Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents, Quincy, before transferring to Belmont University in Tennessee where she earned her undergraduate degree in broadcasting. She received her master's degree in communications from the University of Illinois Springfield in 2002. She has an extensive background working soccer camps and academies and also served as a founding member and the Director of Coaching for FC Academy based in Nashville, Tenn.
Grisham is a former president of the Nashville Area Women's Soccer Association, a member of the Alliance of Women Coaches, a graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy, a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and currently holds an Advanced National Diploma.
What they're saying about Grisham ...
"I have nothing but the utmost respect for Molly. She is a fantastic teacher of the game and her energy and enthusiasm are contagious. Molly is also an outstanding person and role model. She is sure to bring UIS Soccer to new heights!”
- Becky Heiberger-McCabe
Head Coach, St. Cloud State
"Coach Grisham is a big thinker who understands student success. From recruitment to commencement she is committed to assisting students anyway she can."
- Kevin Halle
Director of Admissions, Wayne State College
"Coach Grsiham was always positive, very organized, professional and awesome to work with. I will miss her as a coach and as a friend."
- Mike Barry
Assistant Athletic Director, Wayne State College
