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A name synonymous with Tulsa men's soccer, Tom McIntosh, the school's all-time winningest soccer coach, is in his 14th season as the head coach of the Golden Hurricane. He is only the fourth head coach in the 28-year history of the Tulsa men's soccer program. McIntosh accepted the interim position in July of 1995 and was named head coach at his alma mater a year later.
Since his first season as head coach, McIntosh has built Tulsa into a conference powerhouse, first in the Western Athletic Conference (1996-1999), six seasons in the Missouri Valley Conference (1995, 2000-04) and through three seasons in Conference USA (2005-present), and has brought the Hurricane back into the national spotlight. Tulsa has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last five seasons, including a national quarterfinal appearance in 2004, while posting a 3-3-1 NCAA Tournament mark.
McIntosh's tenure is the longest in the history of the TU men's soccer program. He has an overall record of 136-99-21, and has notched an overall conference mark of 57-43-12 as a member of three conferences.
Under McIntosh, the Hurricane has 11 seasons with nine or more wins, including seven 10-plus win seasons and one campaign with 15 victories, while three of his players (Ryan Pore, Kyle Brown and Chris Clements) have achieved All-America status. Tulsa student-athletes have also excelled in the classroom as 83 players have received all-conference academic honors, 17 have earned Academic All-District accolades and five have received Academic All-America recognition.
Over the past five years, five players have gone on to play professionally, including Ryan Pore (2004), Kyle Brown (2005), Daniel Wasson (2005), Lawson Vaughn (2005) and Dominic Cervi (2008) in Major League Soccer.
The 2007 season was a record-setting year for the Golden Hurricane, as Tulsa (15-3-2) claimed the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles after tallying a 6-0-2 league mark, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship, captured 15 wins for the most in school history and earned a school-best No. 6 national ranking by Soccer America. TU recorded eight shutouts and faced five opponents ranked among the nation's top-20.
Tulsa also excelled in the classroom during the 2007 campaign, as Erik Burkholder and Kilian Poeschk picked up ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI honors. Burkholder went on to receive ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second-team accolades and was selected to the C-USA All-Academic team. Five TU student-athletes were named as C-USA Academic Medalists and six were selected as C-USA All-Academic Honorees, while 11 were named to either the Tulsa President's List, Dean's List or Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
During the 2006 season, TU advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA Championship, and posted a 9-10 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the league. The Golden Hurricane also faced nine ranked opponents, including six ranked among the top-15, posted five shutouts, coming against #11 South Carolina (1-0), #24 Wisconsin-Milwaukee (3-0), Florida International (2-0), Marshall (1-0) and UCF (5-0), and maintained city bragging rights with a 4-2 victory over Oral Roberts.
Tulsa also excelled in the classroom during the 2006 campaign, as Erik Burkholder and Matt Thomas were named to the C-USA All-Academic team, picked up ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI honors and received ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second- and third-team accolades, respectively. Four TU student-athletes were named as C-USA Academic Medalists and six were selected as C-USA All-Academic Honorees, while 10 were named to either the Tulsa President's List, Dean's List or Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
McIntosh guided the Hurricane to a 7-7-7 finish in 2005, and TU reached the conference finals for the second straight year with its appearance in the C-USA Tournament championship game. Tulsa was ranked or received votes for six weeks, including a season-best No. 14 national ranking. The Golden Hurricane knocked off third-ranked Creighton and completed the season with a 2-2-3 mark against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes. Six players received all-conference honors and nine players received C-USA Academic merits.
In 2004, McIntosh led Tulsa to its first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the best postseason run in school history with its spot in the national quarterfinals, and concluded the season ranked No. 8 in the nation. The Hurricane posted a third-place finish in the MVC with a 5-3-1 league mark, but heated up in the MVC Tournament with a win over #17 Creighton before falling to third-ranked SMU in the title game. In the NCAA Tournament, Tulsa topped Michigan State, 3-1, in the opening round and got past #12 Penn State on penalty kicks. The Hurricane then earned a hard-fought, 2-1, double overtime victory over MVC rival SMU in the Round of 16. The Hurricane fell one game short of the College Cup with a loss to eventual champion, Indiana, in the national quarterfinal round.
Under McIntosh's tutelage, Ryan Pore became the first two-time All-America player and a finalist for the prestigious Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy. Pore led the nation in scoring in 2004 and spearheaded the Hurricane attack, which ranked 19th nationally in scoring.
McIntosh guided Tulsa to a banner season in 2003 and led the Golden Hurricane back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991. TU registered a 13-6-2 overall record and posted a 6-1-2 mark in MVC play for a second-place finish, which marked the school's second-best finish in the league and its best result since a first-place finish in 1991. The Hurricane was nationally ranked for 11 straight weeks and achieved a season-best ranking of No. 10 on Oct. 20. McIntosh guided the Hurricane to a 4-3 record against ranked teams and helped sophomore Ryan Pore become the second All-America player in school history. McIntosh's attack-style offense was the fifth-ranked scoring offense in the country. Tulsa reached a new high under McIntosh when the Hurricane captured its first NCAA Tournament victory against Oakland in the first round. Tulsa's season concluded in a narrow, hard-fought, 3-2, loss to top-ranked and defending champion, UCLA, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Off the playing field, two players were named all-MVC Scholar-Athletes and were selected to the Academic All-District At-Large First Team.
McIntosh led the Golden Hurricane to a 10-9 overall record in 2002, and Tulsa finished sixth among the Valley teams with a 4-5 league mark. However, TU's overall record was not indicative of what the men's soccer program accomplished in 2002. McIntosh led Tulsa to a 2-1 overtime victory over 15th-ranked Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the season opener and then added three more victories to record the best season start in school history with a 4-0 mark. The team achieved what was then its highest national and regional ranking on Sept. 9 when TU entered the top-25 at No. 12 and was the No. 1 squad in the region for the first time in history. McIntosh then guided Tulsa to the biggest win in school history when TU shocked previously undefeated and top-ranked Stanford, 3-1, on Sept. 27. Tulsa placed three players on the all-MVC first and second teams. McIntosh picked up the 75th victory of his coaching career against Oral Roberts on Sept. 20. TU completed the season 4-4 vs. 2001 NCAA Tournament teams.
In the classroom, two Hurricane players received Verizon Academic All-District First Team honors and honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete Honors, while a total of 10 players were named to the various TU academic lists.
In 2001, McIntosh guided TU to a 9-10 overall record and an MVC mark of 4-5. Tulsa defeated 2000 NCAA national runner-up Creighton and made McIntosh the school's winningest coach. Although TU lost a hard-fought game to top-ranked SMU, the Hurricane players and coaches met the Mustangs in front of a school-record crowd of 2,533 at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex. Off the field, two Golden Hurricane players were selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team and the Verizon Academic All-District squad. Tulsa also boasted the nation's 23rd-ranked recruiting class according to CollegeSoccerNews.com, and three of those players were selected as 2001 National Freshmen to Watch by the same publication.
In 2000, he led Tulsa back into the MVC and guided the Golden Hurricane to a 10-7-2 mark. With 10 victories, it was the fourth straight winning season under McIntosh.
In 1999, McIntosh picked up his 50th career win with a victory over TCU on Nov. 5, led Tulsa to a second-place finish in the WAC and coached the Hurricane to a 4-2 upset over 22nd-ranked Bowling Green.
In 1998, McIntosh became the first TU coach to guide the Hurricane to consecutive conference tournament appearances. For the first time since the 1990-91 campaigns, Tulsa recorded back-to-back 13-win seasons. TU narrowly missed its second-ever NCAA Tournament trip when the Hurricane fell in the WAC Championship game to Fresno State, 5-4, on penalty kicks. TU ended the season ranked No. 22 in the national polls.
During the 1997 campaign, Tulsa broke into the nation's top-25 and tied the schools then highest-ever ranking of No. 20. TU also qualified for the WAC Tournament and advanced to the finals where the Hurricane lost to eventual champion and nationally ranked SMU.
McIntosh was already familiar with the Tulsa soccer program before taking over the coaching reins on an interim basis in 1995. McIntosh served as an assistant coach at TU for two seasons (1989-91). Before that, he was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter for the Golden Hurricane. While serving as team captain in 1987 and 1988, McIntosh was named the squad's Most Inspirational Player both years.
McIntosh is truly the epitome of Tulsa men's soccer. Since he first walked on to campus as a player in 1986, McIntosh has been a part of 206 of TU's 293 victories either as a player (1986-88), an assistant coach (1989-91) or as the head coach.
McIntosh has served as the chairman for the Midwest Region NCAA Committee, which assists in selecting teams for the NCAA Tournament from the Midwest Region. Previously, he was a member of the Midwest Regional Advisory Committee for three years.
Over the past 20 years, McIntosh has been heavily involved in the youth soccer organizations in the city of Tulsa. During 1992-95 seasons, he led his 16-and-under squad to two state championships. In 1988, McIntosh coached the Bishop Kelley High School boy's team to the state quarterfinals and was selected as the District IV Coach of the Year that same season.
In the summer of 1989, McIntosh played for the Tulsa Renegades of the Southwest Outdoor Soccer League. He holds a license in the United States Soccer Federation and belongs to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
In addition, McIntosh and his brother, Mark, have operated Mac's Soccer Shack at 61st and Mingo for the past 15 years.
McIntosh earned his bachelor's degree in marketing in 1988 and a master's degree in business administration in 1991, both from TU. He attended Memorial High School in Tulsa.
McIntosh, 42, and his wife, Denise, have one son, Ian Thomas, and a daughter, Avery Elizabeth.
