Todd Bramble
2/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Todd Bramble
Head Coach
Todd Bramble begins his first season as head coach of the University of Alabama women's soccer program in the fall of 2008. Bramble took over the Crimson Tide after a successful seven-year stint as head coach at Clemson University.
“Todd’s record of on-field achievement and success in the classroom made him a standout candidate for our job at Alabama,” UA Director of Athletics Mal Moore said upon Bramble’s hiring. “Todd has a proven resume of consistent success and is a good fit to lead our program to the next level. He’s a proven evaluator of talent, a strong recruiter, and a hard worker who will field a tough, smart, competitive team.”
During Bramble’s tenure at the helm of the program, he took the Lady Tigers to the NCAA Tournament every season reaching the NCAA Elite Eight once and the NCAA Sweet 16 twice. In addition, his teams have finished in the top 25 nationally five times and have placed in the top three in the Atlantic Coast Conference three times. Bramble had an 80-51-17 overall record and did not have a losing season at Clemson.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be joining such a prestigious academic institution and an athletic department with a rich tradition of success,” Bramble said. “Alabama made such a strong impression on me and my wife that the opportunity from a professional standpoint and being able to move our family to the Tuscaloosa community was impossible to pass up.”
In 2007, Bramble led Clemson to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight year advancing to the second round before falling to 15th-ranked Tennessee, 1-0. The Tigers posted a 10-6-5 record with victories over 23rd-ranked Long Beach State and seventh-ranked South Carolina. Bramble’s Tigers played nine ranked teams in 2007 and posted an impressive 8-2-1 home record. Three Tigers earned All-ACC honors and two players were recognized as ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District.
Bramble has 18 career wins over top 25 teams including two top-five wins on the road in 2004 when the Lady Tigers won at fourth-ranked Texas and fifth-ranked Texas A&M. It marked the first time in 20 years, since the men's soccer team did it in 1984, that a Clemson program defeated top-five teams in consecutive road games.
Bramble’s teams have had an equally impressive record in the classroom as they have had on the soccer field. The Lady Tigers have posted a 3.0 or better cumulative team grade point average all 13 semesters that he has led the team and have recorded a 3.25 or better team GPA for the last seven semesters. In addition, each of the program's seven NSCAA Academic All-American selections played under Bramble.
“I look forward to meeting with the team and figuring out how we can build this program into a source of pride for the Alabama community as quickly as possible. I’m sure I will discover that many of the qualities that Coach Staley has instilled in the players will allow us to be successful in a short period of time,” Bramble added.
Bramble served as the top assistant under Clemson head men’s soccer coach Trevor Adair from 1995-99. The Tigers had three top-12 seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals twice and the Sweet 16 three times in those five seasons. The 1998 team finished with a 22-2 overall record and a number-one final regular season national ranking and won the ACC Championship that season.
Prior to being an assistant men’s coach at Clemson, Bramble also served under Adair as an assistant at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, from 1991-94. The 1994 Brown team advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
Prior to joining Clemson as the head women’s coach, Bramble was the head coach of the men’s soccer program at Butler University in Indianapolis for the 2000 season.
Bramble has also coached at the international level, where he was an assistant coach for the United States under-17 national team that competed in the World Championships in 1999.
Bramble received a degree in business management from Mercer University in Macon, Ga., in 1995. He was an all-conference goalkeeper at Mercer before spending one year in the National Professional Soccer League with the Memphis Rogues (1989-90). The native of Atlanta, Ga., is married to the former Cindy Rivard. The couple has two children: Cole (7) and Morgan (5).
Career Capsule at Clemson:
In 2007, Bramble led Clemson to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight year advancing to the second round before falling to Southeastern Conference foe 15th-ranked Tennessee, 1-0. The Tigers posted a 10-6-5 record with victories over 23rd-ranked Long Beach State and seventh-ranked South Carolina. Bramble’s Tigers played nine ranked teams in 2007 and posted an impressive 8-2-1 home record. Three Tigers earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference and two players were recognized as ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District.
The 2006 Lady Tigers reached the NCAA Elite Eight and were ranked in a tie for 14th in the final NSCAA poll. Bramble's team achieved an NCAA Tournament first in 2006 when the team advanced three consecutive matches in tournament play by winning penalty kicks, tying Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and Stanford in regulation before advancing on penalty kicks in all three matches. The Lady Tigers recorded two wins over top 25 teams, including a 2-1 victory over ninth-ranked Wake Forest at Riggs Field. The team finished the season with an 11-8-5 overall record and four Lady Tigers earned All-ACC accolades in 2006.
During the 2005 season, Clemson finished with a 9-9-2 overall record and participated in the NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C. That year then unranked Clemson recorded two upsets over top-12 teams, sixth-ranked Duke and 12th-ranked Wake Forest. Three Lady Tigers were named to the All-ACC Second Team.
In 2004, Clemson finished with a 10-8-2 record overall and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th straight season in the program's history. Five players were named All-ACC as Clemson ranked 25th in the final Soccer America poll.
In 2003, the Lady Tigers finished with an 11-7-2 overall record, a 10th straight berth in the NCAA Tournament and a final NSCAA ranking of 17th. Four Clemson players were selected to the All-ACC team and Courtney Foster was named a First-Team Freshman All-American by Soccer Buzz magazine.
In 2002, Bramble guided the Lady Tigers to a 14-8 record overall and another NCAA appearance. The Lady Tigers reached the championship of the ACC Tournament that season. Delilah Arrington was named the ACC's Player-of-the-Year and an NSCAA All-American. Three Lady Tigers were named to the All-ACC team and Clemson was ranked 14th in the final NSCAA poll.
In his first season in 2001, Bramble led the Lady Tigers to a 15-5-1 record overall and an 11th-place final national ranking. Clemson also advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fifth time in program history. Katie Carson was named a Third-Team All-American by the NSCAA and three Clemson players were named to the All-ACC team.
Bramble Quick Facts:
Playing Experience
College ?? Lettered four years at Mercer; Named All-Conference in 1988
Professional - Played for the Memphis Rogues of the NPSL in 1989-90
Education
Graduated from Mercer in 1995; earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management
Coaching Experience
Assistant Men’s Coach at Brown from 1991-94
Assistant Men’s Coach at Clemson from 1995-99
Head Men’s Coach at Butler in 2000
Head Women’s Coach at Clemson from 2001 to 2007
Post Season Experience
Assistant Men’s Coach at Brown ?? NCAA Quarterfinal Round in 1994.
Assistant Men’s Coach at Clemson ?? three trips to the NCAA Tournament between 1995 and 1999 including two appearances in the quarterfinals and three sweet 16 appearances.
Head Women’s Coach at Clemson ?? Lady Tiger advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2001, his first season as head coach; Clemson also participated in the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 NCAA Tournaments.
Personal
Born April 5, 1967; Married to the former Cindy Rivard of Providence, R.I., on February 10, 1996; the couple has two children, Cole (7) and Morgan (5).
