Hall of Fame
Olsen was a second-team Academic All-America® selection in 1985 and has gone on to become one of the most successful NCAA Division III women's soccer coaches in the nation. He has recorded 275 wins and had only one losing record in 18 seasons at Lynchburg College in Virginia. Olsen has led the Hornets to 12 NCAA tournaments in the last 15 seasons and, since 2000, his squads have earned five Sweet 16, three Elite Eight berths and one Final Four berth.
Before joining the Lynchburg staff, Olsen coached Elderton High School to a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) boys soccer championship and was assistant and head men's soccer coach at the University of Pittsburgh's Johnstown campus.
Hand-in-hand with his coaching success, Olsen has made a mark as a humanitarian.
Partnering with Sports Outreach Institute as a community public health epidemiologist, Olsen has worked in several underdeveloped areas to assist residents attain clean drinking water and fight the spread of malaria and other diseases.
Olsen has led Lynchburg students, including student-athletes, and members of his family to lend a helping hand in Argentina, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Uganda as well as locations in the United States.
In addition to the bachelor's degree he earned in 1985 from SRU as a health and physical education major, Olsen is also the proud owner of three advanced degrees. He earned a Master of Science degree in physical education and recreation/exercise physiology from Loughborough University of Technology in England in 1987, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993 and a Ph.D in epidemiology from Pitt in 1993.
Olsen is currently employed as a full professor in Lynchburg's Department of Health and Human Performance in addition to his coaching duties.
Olsen, who attended Loughborough on a Rotary International Scholarship, was a summa cum laude graduate from SRU with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He was the recipient of SRU's 1984 Physical Education Major of the Year honor and earned the honor of being a speaker at December 1985 graduation ceremonies.
