Hank Steinbrecher (July 11, 1947 – March 25, 2025) was an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

executive, player and coach, who was a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

Early career

Steinbrecher attended Davis & Elkins College, where he was a member of the school's 1970 NAIA national championship soccer team. He graduated from Davis & Elkins, then earned a master's degree in education from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

. He began his coaching career at

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a required course of study, work an on-campus j ...

, where he served as head soccer coach and athletic director. He then coached the Appalachian State Mountaineers from 1978 to 1980, leading the team to three consecutive

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

championships. He coached at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

from 1980 to 1984. From 1985 to 1990, he was the director of sports marketing for

Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and ...

, where he helped popularize the ritual of dumping a cooler of

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

on the head football coach in celebration after a victory.

U.S. Soccer

On November 5, 1990, Steinbrecher became the Secretary General of the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

. He took a lead role in marketing the sport and was directly involved in developing U.S. Soccer's sponsorship programs. He also oversaw the staging of the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, the 1996 Summer Olympics Soccer Tournament, and the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

. He stepped down from his position in February 2000.

Accolades

Steinbrecher was inducted into the

as a builder in 2005. In 2012, he received the Werner Fricker Builder Award, which honors those "who have established a lasting legacy in the history and structure of soccer in the United States." He was also a member of the New England Soccer Hall of Fame, the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame, and the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame. The Hank Steinbrecher Cup is a USASA competition started in 2013 that crowns the National Amateur Champions.

Personal life and death

On March 25, 2025, Steinbrecher died in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, at the age of 77.

References

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinbrecher, Hank 1947 births 2025 deaths American soccer coaches Appalachian State Mountaineers men's soccer coaches Boston University Terriers men's soccer coaches United States Soccer Federation officials Davis & Elkins Senators men's soccer players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Warren Wilson Owls men's soccer coaches Men's association football players not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality