George Van Linder, who last month nearly guided SMU into the NCAA women's soccer Sweet 16, was introduced Friday as Baylor's new women's soccer coach.
Van Linder replaces Nick Cowell, who resigned in mid-November to seek out opportunities in other fields. Cowell was 40-32-6 in four seasons in Waco, Texas, including an 8-9-2 mark in 2002.
Van Linder was 59-20-11 with four Western Athletic Conference championships and three NCAA Tournament berths in four seasons at SMU, which this season knocked off Texas in an NCAA opener for the second successive year but was ousted by Texas A&M on penalty kicks in the second round. The Mustangs, who spent a week in Soccer America's Top 25, were 13-6-4 in 2002.
Van Linder guided SMU to the Sweet 16 in 1999, with a victory over Baylor en route. He was the 2000 WAC Coach of the Year.
Before that, he spent five seasons at Butler, the final three as women's head coach. He led Butler to the 1996 Mid-Continent Conference championship and was selected MCC Coach of the Year.
He was 34-27-0 at Butler and has a career mark of 93-47-11.