LSU Gold

George Fotopoulos Season 2024

LSU
George Fotopoulos
Title
Head Coach
Hometown
Tampa
Alma Mater
1992

(updated 8/31/04)

Overall Record: 64-42-8
LSU Record: 44-28-7

George Fotopoulos will join his wife Danielle as co-head coach of the LSU women’s soccer program in 2004 after serving four seasons as head coach. Entering the 2004 campaign, Fotopoulos owns a 44-28-7 record at LSU, and is the all-time winningest coach in school history. During his first season at the helm of the LSU soccer program in 2000, Fotopoulos led the Tigers to a school-record 15 wins and a Southeastern Conference Tournament berth. With an overall record of 15-6, the Tigers posted their first winning season since 1996 and the 10-game turnaround earned the Tigers the title of Soccer Buzz’s “Most Improved Team” in NCAA Division I.

In 2002, LSU went 12-5-3 and earned its first win in school history against a top-15 opponent, beating No. 15 Florida State, 2-1, in just the third game of the season. The win was enough to earn the Tigers a No. 10 ranking in the NSCAA Central Regional the day after the historic win. LSU also became the first No. 8 seed in SEC Tournament history to upset the top seed in the first round as the Tigers defeated No. 1 Auburn, 1-0.

Fotopoulos became LSU’s all-time winningest coach in the Tigers’ first match of the 2002 season. LSU blanked Stephen F. Austin, 2-0, in Nacogdoches, Texas. The win gave him 34 victories at LSU, passing Miriam Hickey for first on the all-time list.

Fotopoulos has made it his goal to instill a winning attitude in the Tigers and he has already been successful in that category. He expects only the best from his athletes and gives them the same. His name and reputation in the soccer world allow him to recruit some of the nation’s top athletes and have helped him turn the LSU program around. Fotopoulos came to LSU after accumulating a 20-14-1 record in two seasons at Division II University of Tampa. In 1998, he directed a first-year Tampa program to a 9-7-1 record and turned the Spartans into a nationally competitive program in just the next season. Tampa finished 11-7 in Fotopoulos’ final season.

The Tigers raced to a 7-0-1 start last season before finishing 10-9-1, LSU’s third winning season in four years under Fotopoulos.

A 1992 graduate of the University of Tampa, Fotopoulos played forward for the Spartans for two years after transferring from Old Dominion. He was named First-Team All-Sunshine State Conference twice He was voted the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Field Player of the Year as a senior in 1992 after leading the Spartans to the Division II national championship game.

Fotopoulos was a member of the United States Open championship St. Petersburg Kickers in 1989 and played in the A-League for the Tampa Bay Cyclones in 1995. Fotopoulos was heavily involved in club soccer in the state of Florida before his arrival at LSU. He directed the Tampa Bay Heather soccer club to United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) national championships in the Under-19 and Under-20 age divisions. Fotopoulos placed over 125 Florida youth players on college teams. He also worked closely with the Florida Olympic Development Program throughout the 1990’s.

Fotopolous has a United States Soccer Federation (U.S.S.F.) “A” license, the highest level a coach can receive, and holds an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma. He was a member of the 2001 USYSA Region III Staff and is currently a state staff coach for the Louisiana Olympic Developmental Program.

Accomplishments and Highlights

  • U.S.S.F “A” License
  • NSCAA Premier License
  • 2001 USYSA Region III Staff Coach
  • 2002-03 LSA State ODP Staff Coach

Playing and Coaching Information

Years Capacity Organization
1987-89 Player Old Dominion University
1989 Player St. Petersburg Kickers
1990-92 Player University of Tampa
1994 Player New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers
1995 Player Tampa Bay Cyclones
1998-99 Head Coach University of Tampa
2000- Head Coach LSU

Coaching Records
Year School Record
1998 Tampa 9-7-1
1999 Tampa 11-7
2000 LSU 15-6
2001 LSU 7-8-3
2002 LSU 12-5-3
2003 LSU 10-9-1
Total Six years 64-42-8