Bryant & Stratton College Men's Soccer Team Wins National Championship, Fulfilling Coach's Personal Promise to his Late Father

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — A triumphant D1 Soccer team from Bryant & Stratton College (B&SC) has just returned home from Pittsburgh, PA to Rochester, NY with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship trophy firmly in hand. The B&SC Rochester Bobcats were elated, but the win also fulfilled a promise that Dublin-born Coach Darren Wynne—a newly-minted American citizen—made to his father before he passed away on Christmas in 2021.

“My dad passed away in 2021 on Christmas day and before he passed, I promised him I would win a national championship. Two years later I made that promise a reality,” Wynne said.

In only its third year, the B&SC Rochester men’s soccer program was the #1 seed going into the USCAA Division 1 championships and defeated Atlantis University in a 2-0 shutout. The shutout prompted Coach Wynne to say, “winning this tournament is “like a Pee Wee team winning the Super Bowl!”

When the team made it to the finals, Coach Wynne shared that he called his mother in Ireland to tell her. “She said my dad, who played soccer for Ireland before Darren was born, would be pulling a few strings for me to win. And we did 2-0. An incredible moment for me and the whole team.”

The championship for Bryant & Stratton-Rochester is the first for the program; 43 of its 44 players come from Ireland, England, Scotland, Italy and Spain. These student athletes are chasing their dreams of playing soccer at the pro level while working towards a degree at B&SC.

ABOUT BRYANT & STRATTON COLLEGE: Founded in 1854, Bryant & Stratton College, a non-profit institution, has built its reputation and success on a commitment to excellence and high standards. Bryant & Stratton College is an accredited institution and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) www.msche.org. Bryant & Stratton College’s accreditation status is Accreditation Reaffirmed. The Commission’s most recent action on the institution’s accreditation status on 6/22/2017 was to reaffirm accreditation. MSCHE is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Bryant & Stratton College has campus locations in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as an Online Education division, and a Continuing Education department. For over 165 years, Bryant & Stratton College has offered students access to career-relevant education leading to bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, and professional certificates in the fields of healthcare, business, criminal justice, design, financial services, hospitality, human resources, paralegal studies, and information technology. In addition to access to education, Bryant & Stratton College offers students access to tools to help ensure their greatest chance at success through their Career Life Prep^® program. Bryant & Stratton works with students to best map individual career paths – teaching the soft skills employers value most, helping establish valuable professional connections and internships and offering career services support even after graduation. Bryant & Stratton College is committed to helping students succeed in their education and beyond.