Bio

Brent Ridenour is in his 21st season at the helm of the Ohio Northern men’s soccer program. He also serves as an assistant professor in the HPSS department.

The Springfield, Ohio, native has established the Polar Bears as a successful program regionally and nationally as the program has made seven NCAA tournament appearance.

In 2016, he guided the Polar Bears to its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh OAC Tournament Championship. The Polar Bears finished the season 17-2-4 overall and 6-1-2 in the OAC.

Ridenour took the program to new heights in 2012, guiding the Polar Bears to their most successful appearance with a national runner-up finish in the NCAA III Tournament. He led the Polar Bears to a school record 25 wins, a perfect 9-0-0 mark in OAC play and the OAC regular season and tournament championship.

During his tenure as head coach, ONU has been nationally-ranked in 2000, 2002 and 2006-09, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016 including its highest ranking as No. 2 in 2012.  

Ridenour was recognized by his peers as the 2011 and 2012 NSCAA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year.

Ridenour has also been recognized as Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2003, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

Under his tutelage, the ONU program has reached the OAC Tournament 17 times in the past 20 seasons, earned eight OAC regular season championships and seven conference tournament championships.

In 2010, Ridenour became the winningest coach in the men’s soccer history with a 3-1 win at Muskingum. His overall coaching record stands at 295-115-34.

He also ranks as the winningest head coach in Ohio Athletic Conference men's soccer history.

Ridenour is also responsible for the Polar Bears’ appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight in 2008, a first for the program. For his efforts that season, he was named All-Ohio Coach of the Year.

On Oct. 4, 2006 against Heidelberg, Ridenour notched his 100th win at ONU. Additionally, he was inducted into ONU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Brent and his wife, Kim, and daughters, Brianna and Cameron, live in Lima.

Education: Ridenour, a 1995 graduate of ONU, was a standout soccer and baseball player for the Polar Bears. He is ONU’s all-time career goal scorer for the men’s soccer program, scoring 56 goals in his four years.

A four-time All-Conference player, Ridenour is also second in the school’s all-time career points lead with 125. He also owned ONU’s single game and single season goals and points records until each was broken in 2004.

As a baseball player, Ridenour was a career .335 hitter and ranks third on ONU’s all-time hits list with 174 base hits during his four-year baseball career.

A three-time Academic All-OAC pick, Ridenour was the toughest batter to strike out in Division III during the 1994 season.

He capped off his career by winning the prestigious Clyde Lamb Scholarship Award, given annually to the top male and female student-athletes in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

As an incoming freshman, Ridenour also received the Ohio Northern Presidential Scholarship, given to four incoming students each year. After completing his undergraduate career, he returned to Ohio Northern as a graduate assistant coach for women’s soccer and baseball in 1996.

Ridenour received his master’s degree from Bowling Green State University in 1999.

Men's Soccer under Ridenour