WKU Hilltoppers’ Chris Tinius Heads to Bellarmine

News broke yesterday that WKU Hilltoppers’ soccer Assistant Coach Chris Tinius has been named the new Bellarmine Women’s Head Coach. Bellarmine will be Tinius’ first tenure as a head coach, as he has spent the past seven seasons on the Hill as an Assistant Head Coach. The move is official as of June 5th.

During his tenure on the WKU staff, the soccer team saw at least 10 wins in six of the seven seasons he was on the staff. While there, he was a huge part of helping lead the WKU squad to three Sun Belt Championship appearances while also having a 15 win season in 2008. The Hilltoppers won 49 games in the Sun Belt play during the span of 2007-2013 which is more than any other program during that time.

Tinius assisted Head Coach Jason Neidell in leading the WKU squad to achieve numerous accolades over the years, including a record of seven players selected to the All-Sun Belt Conference teams in 2013.

Coach Neidell commented on Tinius’ departure:

"“I want to thank Chris for his tireless efforts over the past seven years and congratulate him on his new head coaching position. This is a bittersweet moment for our soccer team.  It is no accident that Chris’ tenure here at WKU mirrored the most successful years in the history of our program.He is one of the up-and-coming young stars in the coaching game, and he will be sorely missed. Chris is so deserving of this next step, and I knew it was only a matter of time before the right opportunity came along.  Bellarmine is getting a proven winner, and I could not be more excited for Chris.”"

Since Tinius’ arrival on the Hill the Lady Tops have posted a win percentage of .684 and achieved a record of 87-34-23 during the span.