Feb. 5, 2003

BOCA RATON, FL. - Jim Blankenship has been named Florida Atlantic University's women's assistant soccer coach, announced head coach Brian Dooley, Wednesday evening. The assistant coaching position was left vacant by Tammy Mazza. The Boca Raton native is the inaugural head coach at Florida Institute of Technology.

"I think the opportunity to bring in a coach of his level is certainly going to help our team," said Dooley. "He is a guy that has won national championships, has competed in the Big East Conference and been to the NCAA Tournament, which are all aspirations of our program. I think bringing him in and giving him the opportunity to work with our program and our team is just going to enhance us all."

Blankenship will assume his new position at FAU in early February after accumulating 17 years of college coaching experience, most recently as the assistant women's soccer coach of fellow Atlantic Sun Conference member Jacksonville University, where he concentrated his efforts on training and recruitment.

Prior to his work at JU, Blankenship held the position of head women's soccer coach at the University of Miami. Blankenship started the program in 1998 and helped to build it into a national contender in only four years. Under his direction, the Hurricanes climbed as high as a no. 14 national ranking. Blankenship's recruiting classes were recognized by numerous soccer magazines (Soccerbuzz.com and Soccer America) as some of the top rated collegiate classes between 1998 and 2001. The 2001 squad received a bid for the NCAA Tournament where the Hurricanes lost 5-2 to the University of Georgia, in the first round.

No stranger to Boca Raton, Blankenship was the head women's soccer coach for Lynn University from 1986-1998. While at Lynn, he was named NAIA Coach-of-the-Year five times (1988, 1990, 1992, 1994 & 1995) and NSCAA Coach-of-the-Year twice (1992 & 1994). His teams won the National Championship three years (1992, 1994 & 1995) and were runners-up twice (1991 & 1993). 18 Academic All-Americans and 40 All Americans graduated under his tenure.

Blankenship graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Administration and Recreation from Florida International University and later went on to earn his Masters of Science in Sports Administration from St. Thomas University. Blankenship has been the Director of Coaching for the Soccer Association of Boca Raton where he coached 15 teams and led Team Boca to seven championships. He has taken part in the southern region Olympic Development Program and has been a site administrator for the MLS, WUSA and Umbro Select.

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