Rebecca Lund 'Becky' Burleigh (born October 13, 1967) is 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 ...

coach. She is currently a special advisor for

Sporting Club Jacksonville Sporting Club Jacksonville, commonly known as Sporting JAX, is an upcoming American professional soccer club based in Jacksonville, Florida. The club is planning to debut in the USL Championship in 2026. History Founding A USL Championship fra ...

of the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. Formerly also a

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

player, she is best known for her 26-year tenure as the first

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the

Florida Gators women's soccer The Florida Gators women's soccer team represents the University of Florida in the sport of college soccer. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They ...

team at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where she led the Gators soccer team to a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I national championship in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. In 2021, Burleigh had a three-month spell as

interim head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of professional

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

team

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, 2016 ...

Playing career

During her collegiate playing career at Methodist College, Burleigh was a four-year varsity letterman in soccer for the Lady Monarchs, including Methodist's first four seasons as a varsity program.MUMonarchs.com, Methodist University Hall of Fame
Becky Burleigh
Retrieved May 3, 2011. During her four seasons of play, she helped Methodist to a 55–19–4 (.731) record, four

Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolina ...

(DIAC) championships, three NCAA

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

Tournament appearances, and a trip to the 1988 Division III Final Four. Burleigh played

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

for her first three seasons, and served as the team's

goalie In many team sports that involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

as a senior. She was a three-time First-Team All-DIAC selection and earned First-Team All-South honors in 1988. In 1999, she was inducted into the Methodist University Hall of Fame. She played under Head Coach Joe Pereira, who went on to a successful career at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

following his departure from Methodist. She notes him as one of the people she admires.

Coaching career

Berry College

In 1989, Burleigh was appointed head coach at

Berry College Berry College is a private university in the Mount Berry community adjacent to Rome, Georgia. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Berry College was founded on values based on Christian principles in 1 ...

, located in

Mount Berry, Georgia Mount Berry is an unincorporated community contiguous with the main campus of Berry College in Floyd County, Georgia, United States, bordering the city of Rome. Mount Berry Mall, the shopping mall serving Rome, is in the Mount Berry area. It i ...

. She was offered the Berry job within weeks of her own college graduation, at the age of 21. From 1989 to 1993, Burleigh compiled an 82–23–6 overall record during her five seasons at Berry, and her Lady Fury teams won two

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA) national championships in 1990 and 1993.

Florida Gators

Burleigh was named the first head coach of the start-up Florida Gators soccer program on June 28, 1994.GatorZone.com, Soccer, Coaching & Support Staff
Becky Burleigh
. Retrieved May 3, 2011. In 1998, in the Gators soccer program's fourth year of existence, Burleigh coached the Gators to their first NCAA national title by defeating the defending national champion

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Tar Heels 1–0 in the final.Pat Dooley,
Top 25 Gator teams: #5 1998 Women's soccer
" ''Gainesville Sun'' (June 4, 2009). Retrieved May 3, 2011. The 1998 Gators finished 26–1, their only regular season loss coming to the same

team that the Gators defeated in the NCAA championship final. Players from her 1998 national championship team included All-Americans

Danielle Fotopoulos Danielle Ruth Fotopoulos (; born March 24, 1976) is an American soccer coach and former player. Fotopoulos holds the all-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I records for goals and points, and was a member of the Univer ...

Heather Mitts Heather Mitts Feeley (born Heather Blaine Mitts; June 9, 1978) is an American former professional soccer defender. Mitts played college soccer for the University of Florida, and thereafter, she played professionally in the Women's Professional ...

and Erin Baxter. Burleigh's Gators played in the Eastern Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). In conference play, her Gators teams won thirteen SEC championships, and ten SEC tournament titles, leading all other SEC teams since the Florida soccer team began play in 1995. Burleigh's later seasons were less successful, and she had losing records in two of her last three seasons as a head coach – the only losing seasons in her career. She announced she would retire at the end of the team's 2020–21 season, which concluded with a 2-0 win over the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

on April 3, 2021. As a head coach, Burleigh compiled an overall career record of 513–160–46, with a winning percentage of 0.745. She ranks second in total number of all-time wins among Division I coaches. During her tenure at Florida, Burleigh coached seventeen

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

players.
2010 Florida Gators Soccer Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 5–6, 58–69, 60, 62, 67 (2010). Retrieved May 3, 2011.

Orlando Pride

On July 25, 2021 Burleigh came out of retirement to become the interim head coach of professional

NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

team

for the remainder of the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

following the midseason resignation of

Marc Skinner Marc Skinner (born 23 March 1983) is an English professional football coach who is the head coach of Manchester United Women in the FA Women's Super League. Having been involved with their youth set-up, Skinner went on to manage the Birmingh ...

. Her first game in charge was on July 31, a 1–1 tie with

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...

. She coached her first win the following week, a 2–0 victory on the road at

Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...

. Despite moving up to 4th place as Orlando picked up 12 points in Burleigh's first seven games, the team was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with one game remaining following a 3–1 defeat to

Racing Louisville FC Racing Louisville Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Louisville, Kentucky, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It began playing in 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium. The team i ...

on October 16, part of a four-game losing streak. On October 27, it was announced Burleigh had withdrawn herself from consideration for the permanent head coach job and would end her interim tenure following the final game of the season on October 29. The game extended Orlando's losing streak to five to finish the season as Chicago Red Stars won 1–0, leaving Burleigh with a 3–6–3 record during her interim tenure.

Sporting Club Jacksonville

On June 23, 2023, it was announced that Burleigh had joined

, an expansion franchise of the

, as women's team advisor.

Personal

Burleigh grew up in

Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census. As of ...

, where she began to play youth soccer at the age of ten. She graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in biology from Methodist College (now known as "Methodist University") located in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

, in 1989. In 1993, Burleigh earned her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in exercise science from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

located in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In March 2018, Burleigh married Celia Slater.

Coaching record

Coaching honors

;Berry College *

NAIA Women's Soccer Championship The NAIA women's soccer championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of NAIA women's collegiate soccer in the United States and Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories ...

(2): 1990, 1993 ;Florida Gators *

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's natio ...

(1):

* SEC regular season (14): 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 *

SEC Women's Soccer Tournament The SEC women's soccer tournament is the conference championship tournament in College soccer in the United States, college soccer for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The tournament has been held every year since 1993. It is a single-eliminati ...

(12): 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

;Individual *

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

National Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

(1): 1998 *SEC Coach of the Year (4): 1996, 2006, 2008, 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burleigh, Becky 1967 births Living people Sportspeople from Tarpon Springs, Florida Soccer players from Florida American women's soccer players American LGBTQ soccer players American lesbian sportswomen Women's association football defenders Women's association football goalkeepers Methodist Monarchs women's soccer players American women's soccer coaches Female association football managers Berry Vikings women's soccer coaches Florida Gators women's soccer coaches Orlando Pride head coaches National Women's Soccer League head coaches Georgia State University alumni 20th-century American sportswomen Sporting Club Jacksonville