GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After more than a quarter-century walking the Florida sideline, the thought of walking away from coaching was something Becky Burleigh admits has been on her mind for some time. Burleigh, one of the most popular UF coaches of her generation and thoroughly devoted to the orange-and-blue brand, decided this week it was time to admit as much to the people she cared about the most.
Burleigh, who started the Florida soccer program from scratch, guided it to a national championship in just four seasons and went on to accumulate a bevy of Southeastern Conference titles, will retire from coaching following the 2020-21 season. She broke the news to her players after practice Saturday, as the team prepares to resume the second half of the COVID-adjusted schedule.
When UF (2-7-1) returns to play Feb. 19 with a home match against Florida Atlantic, it'll do so with well over 400 all-time victories and all of them on Burleigh's watch, during a run of 26 seasons.
"It's something I have been contemplating for a while," said Burleigh, 53. "Once the decision was made, I felt I needed to be as transparent as possible with our current players and future players and put the administration in the best position possible to start the search process."
Her place in the UF Athletic Hall of Fame awaits.
"Becky Burleigh has set an incredible standard for excellence in leading the Gators soccer program from its infancy," UF athletic director Scott Stricklin said. "She has placed Florida soccer amongst the nation's leaders in her 26 seasons. All of that is due to her efforts and those of all the young women she has led and inspired."
She was hired on June 28, 1994, by then-UF athletic director Jeremy Foley at the age of 26, becoming a Division-I coach after guiding NAIA Berry (Ga.) to a pair of national titles. The program made its debut in the fall of 1995, and just three years later — with iconic players such as Danielle Fotopoulos, Abby Wambach and Heather Mitts running the pitch — shocked the sport by upsetting No. 1 North Carolina, winner of 11 of the previous 12 national championships, in the 1998 NCAA title match.
Only three coaches in Florida athletics history -- volleyball's Mary Wise (30 seasons, 1991-present), along with baseball's Dave Fuller (27 seasons, 1948-75) and men's golf's Buddy Alexander (1987-2014) -- had tenures longer than Becky Burleigh's 26 seasons.
Burleigh's numbers show:
A record of 427-136-38 with the Gators, for a winning percentage of .742. Throw in her four seasons at Berry and Burleigh's 509 wins rank second most among active Division-I coaches. She is one of only two women in NCAA history to reach 500 career victories.
14 Southeastern Conference regular-season championships (the last in 2015) and another 12 SEC Tournament titles (most recently in 2016).
22 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 15 straight from 2003-17, two Final Fours and that remarkable 1998 national crown.
37 All Americans and another 174 SEC Honor Roll selections.
Her 26 seasons are the second-most among active Florida coaches, behind volleyball coach Mary Wise's 30 seasons, and make Burleigh the fourth-longest serving coach in UF athletics history.
"I'm not making this up," Burleigh said. "I've loved coming to work every day here. And I've loved the people."
For sure, Burleigh has been a passionate and constant ambassador for all things Gators, living and loving the "Team Florida" concept and becoming a loyal confidante to her fellow coaches.
With her next move, Burleigh likely will pursue another one of her passions: the study of performance. She's often said her focus on "Person > Player" is her so-called "why." On that front, she's worked closely with performance consultant Brett Ledbetter in his "What Drives Winning" conferences to help other coaches and leaders develop and put in play the lessons of building a better person for successful results in their chosen endeavors.
"She was a winner before we hired her, a winner when she got here and a winner as a person," Foley said. "Becky loved the mission of what the Gators were all about. She respected her colleagues and was like a Pied Piper with them, which is something I'll always respect about her. She was always looking to get better and trying to help everyone around her get better. And the relationships she had with her former players says a lot about her and their admiration for her, which I think you'll see when this news becomes public."
UF fans will see as much on their social media timelines Saturday. Becky Burleigh is one of three women to lead their teams to NCAA Division I Women's Soccer team titles - Burleigh (1998), Amanda Cromwell (UCLA, 2013) and Erica Dambach (Penn State, 2015).
In true Burleigh fashion, she struggled with the timing of the announcement, especially on the heels of everything her players have dealt with in this COVID-split season. She was hesitant to add more uncertainty to their plates, relative to where the program goes next. Burleigh empathized (even agonized some) with that element of unknown, ultimately opting for the transparency and, with it, some clarity for the program.
She has no doubt her successor, whoever he or she may be, will be stepping into a tremendous situation.
"I think the future of UF soccer is huge," Burleigh said. "I think somebody can come in here and really, really elevate this program even higher."
To that point, Stricklin may disagree, as far as his pool of potential candidates is concerned.
"Because of the great job Becky has done, this is going to be an attractive job," Stricklin said. "It'll be a challenge to find a coach who brings the same passion and energy to this position, but I'm confident we'll find someone who can take the baton from her and move the program forward."
