University of New Mexico head coach Jeremy Fishbein is entering his 17th season as a collegiate soccer head coach and his eighth year at the helm of the Lobo men's program. Fishbein spent nine seasons at the Division II level before joining the Lobo program in 2001 and leading it to places never before seen at UNM.

Fishbein spent the 2001 season as the associate head coach under longtime head coach Klaus Weber. There he learned the ins and outs of running a Division I program. He also helped guide the Lobos to their first ever Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

When Weber, UNM's all-time winningest coach, decided to retire in the summer of 2002, the only choice for his replacement was Fishbein. He was named head coach of the Lobo men's soccer team in July of 2002.

From the start, Fishbein dedicated himself to improving on the team's 7-12-2 record from the 2001 season. He set a goal to build UNM into one of the top programs in the country and has worked toward that goal ever since.

Each year, Fishbein and the Lobos have taken steps forward. In 2002, UNM posted a school record 18-4-0 mark, winning the MPSF Tournament for the second year in a row, and returning to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The 9.5-game improvement from 2001 to 2002 was the 10th best single-season turnaround in NCAA history.

The 2003 season may not have looked like progress due to the 8-9-3 record, but facing seven ranked teams in the regular season gave New Mexico an idea of what it took to be a top program. UNM was one goal away from returning to the NCAA Tournament, but fell 3-2 in the MPSF Championship game to San Jose State.

In 2004, Fishbein and his staff put together the 15th best recruiting class in the nation, according to CollegeSoccerNews.com, and meshed it with a very talented group of returning players into one of the best teams in school history. UNM amassed a 17-1-2 record, defeated No. 1 Indiana in the regular season, won the MPSF title for the third time in four years and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. For his efforts, Fishbein was recognized as the 2004 National Coach of the Year by Soccer America Magazine.

As good as 2004 was 2005 was even better. The Lobos tied the school record for wins with an 18-2-3 mark, won the MPSF title again and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for parts of the season. UNM was the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced all the way to the NCAA Finals. The Lobos also set an NCAA record for attendance with 3,629 fans per game, including a sold out crowd against Cal in the NCAA Tournament. Again Fishbein was honored with 2005 Far West Region Coach of the Year and 2005 MPSF co-Coach of the Year awards.

Fishbein has built a solid resume for himself during his first four seasons at UNM. He has two MPSF Coach of the Year honors, only the second coach in school history to win the award, and he earned his 150th collegiate coaching win in 2005. Also, Fishbein has coached five of the eight Lobos to earn All-American honors (Junro Narita (2002), Jeff Rowland (2004-05), Andrew Boyens (2005) and Lance Watson (2005) and the only Hermann Trophy Finalist in school history in Jeff Rowland (2005).

The Lobos' success has carried over into the classroom under Fishbein. UNM set a program record with a 3.35 team grade-point-average in the 2005 spring semester. UNM also placed four players on the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American squad, including Ben Ashwill, Brandon Moss, Jeff Rowland and Matt Wootton. No other team in the country had more than two representatives.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Fishbein, 40, played college soccer at both the University of Richmond (1984-85) and the University of Cincinnati (1986). His post-collegiate playing experience included stints with teams in New Zealand, Australia and California. He earned a bachelor's degree in Economics from UC Santa Barbara and a master's degree in Sport Administration from the University of New Mexico.

His wife, Alicia Meraz, is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and was an all-conference tennis player for the Lobos from 1993-96. The couple has two daughters, Alisa (5) and Gabriela (3).