Men’s soccer has found its new head coach, and the program did not have to look far.

Athletic director Jeff Schulman announced Rob Dow as the eighth head coach of Vermont men’s soccer Feb. 17. Dow’s contract will run for four years.

Dow, has spent five years on the UVM coaching staff.  He served as an assistant for three years, and has been associate head coach the past two years.

This is his first head coaching job at the Division I level. He will replace Jesse Cormier, who left earlier this year, according to a Feb. 1 Cynic article.

Cormier was enthusiastic about Dow’s candidacy, Schulman said.

“After having some very in-depth conversations with Rob, and getting feedback from my colleagues who did the same, it became very clear to be that the best person for the job was right here, in this department,” Schulman said.

Dow is excited to work in a program with a positive atmosphere around it, he said.

“We have great people in this program, we have great people around it who support it, and we’re very lucky to have that,” Dow said.

“Jesse and I obviously spoke quite a bit right around his departure,” he said.  “There was never any question who he was advocating for.”

The team reacted very well to the news of Dow’s promotion, Schulman said.

“This is my fourth team that I’ve shared the news about a new head coach with, and I never had a reaction quite like I had,” Schulman said.

Dow said he looks forward to the challenge of taking over a young team after an extremely successful 2016 season.

“For me, this is an opportunity,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for guys to step up and get their time.”