Bob Seddon Fund

THE NSCAA FOUNDATION The NSCAA Foundation Announces
Endowment Campaign
To commemorate
the coaching spirit
of legendary Penn
soccer coach Robert
“Bob” Seddon, the
NSCAA Foundation— the charitable arm of
the National Soccer Coaches Association
of America—is establishing a permanently
endowed scholarships and grants
fund named in honor of Bob.
The annual income from the
Bob Seddon Fund will provide
financial assistance to deserving
youth soccer coaches and youth
soccer organizations in targeted,
underserved urban communities
throughout the United States,
enabling them to attend NSCAA
National Coaching Academy
courses.
The Bob Seddon Fund
of 50 candidates to take over for
the legendary Charley Scott as
soccer coach at the University of
Pennsylvania. During his 19-year
tenure, Seddon guided the
Quakers to three Ivy League
championships, including
back-to-back undefeated
seasons in 1971-72; six NCAA
Tournament appearances, including
three years when the Quakers won
twice to advance to the quarterfinal
round; and a 163-84-30 record. These
were the glory days of Penn soccer,
when crowds of more than 10,000
would show up at Franklin Field to watch.
Seddon’s win total is
second all-time at the
school, behind only
Patrick Stewart, who
won 250 games as the
program’s first coach
from 1905-43, and his
.643 win percentage
tops all.
The initial goal is $25,000, the minimum
required to establish an NSCAA Foundation
endowment. Once established, The Bob
Seddon Fund will join the other named
endowments under the Foundation's
“Honor Your Coach” recognition program.
Under Seddon’s tutelage,
Penn had two first-team
All-Americans, Stan
Startzell in 1970 and
Steve Baumann in 1973. They remain the
Quakers’ most recent such honorees.
Ten other players received some level of
All-America recognition during Seddon’s
career. In addition, 20 players earned a
total of 24 first-team All-Ivy honors.
A New Jersey native, and a three-sport
star in high school, Bob Seddon knew he
wanted to be a coach from his earliest
high school days. After graduating from
Springfield College, Seddon began his
career with 10 years as the head soccer
coach at Hackensack (NJ) High School.
In 1968, with no college coaching
experience, he was selected from a pool
A rare “two-sport” man in college coaching,
Bob also coached the Penn baseball team
for 34 years. When he retired in 2005 age
70, Penn director of athletics Steve Bilsky
called him “a true ambassador for Penn.”
Affectionately known as “Bullet Bob” by
his soccer players, Seddon reflected, “I
feel very blessed to have coached and
worked at Penn my entire 37 years. The
many friends, athletes, alumni, and gifted
coaches I worked with helped me enjoy my
time. I never really felt that I had a job. The
Penn experience was a great ride.”
Expressing the spirit of the true coach
with his characteristic modesty, he added:
“Maybe I did influence some lives a little
bit. If I did, that’s what an educator is
supposed to be all about, and that’s
wonderful.”
We hope you will consider a tax-deductible
gift toward the Bob Seddon Fund and join
in honoring Bob’s contributions and
devotion to soccer. To make a donation
to the Bob Seddon Fund, mail your taxdeductible contribution to:
The Bob Seddon Fund
c/o The NSCAA Foundation
800 Ann Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
To make a gift online, go to
http://www.nscaa.com/foundation/donate
For more information, please contact
the NSCAA Foundation Committee,
at [email protected] or call
913.362.1747 and select option 7.
N S C A A F O U N D AT I O N
N AT I O N A L S O C C E R C O A C H E S A S S O C I AT I O N O F A M E R I C A
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