The 2025 soccer season marked Paul McGinlay’s 35th season as Trinity University’s men’s soccer head coach. In that time, McGinlay’s team has collected 23 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference  championships, 25 NCAA playoff appearances and 10 appearances in the Final Four. Aside from heading a successful men’s soccer program, McGinlay also serves as the athletic liaison to the admissions office and aids in the “Sport in England” class.

McGinlay went to school at the University of London, and grew up in Northampton, about an hour north of London. He traveled to the U.S. during the summer months to teach an eight-week soccer camp in Long Island, NY, and from his time traveling around the U.S., McGinlay decided to pursue a master’s degree and later teach at the College of Wooster in Ohio. After four years in Ohio, McGinlay applied to be the first-ever full-time men’s soccer coach at Trinity in 1991 — and the rest is history.

“I’m a huge ambassador for the school, not just athletically, but academically,” McGinlay said. “The school was on the rise. They were looking to do something a little bit different, athletically, and I stayed. I actually met my wife, who ended up graduating from Trinity in ‘92. We met in ‘94, and my son is a senior at Trinity right now.”

McGinlay boasts one of the best records among coaches in the NCAA, with an 83.3% win percentage. He also holds the record for the fastest coach to reach 500 wins. In 2011, the Trinity soccer field was named the Paul McGinlay Field in his honor. Throughout his successful coaching career, McGinlay believes everything has continued to improve.

“In every way, things have gotten better: facilities, ability, academic profile, equipment support,” McGinlay said. “Technology has just changed so much. When we first started, we had balls and cones, but now it’s heart rate monitors, and GPS devices and video feedback that’s just on a professional level. So, it’s so different from 1991. 1991 feels like 1891.” 

As facilities and technology have evolved, so has McGinlay’s coaching philosophy. The coach’s office is overflowing with books —  not only books on soccer, but other sports too.

“I always think that the two things that can change you are the people that you meet and the books that you read. They kind of affect you more than anything else,” McGinlay said.

Recently, McGinlay finished “How to Win: Rugby and Leadership from Twickenham to Tokyo,” a book by Clive Woodward, a rugby coach who won England the Rugby World Cup in 2003. He mentioned another one of his most impactful recent reads, a Dutch book called “Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football,” by David Winner, English journalist and writer. McGinlay said he enjoyed the book’s “philosophical approach” to the game.

McGinlay notes that there is always a share of the team from England. The soccer team has four incoming recruits from England for 2027. As head coach, McGinlay is highly involved in the recruiting process for the team, and he looks for a strong academic and athletic profile in potential players.

In collaboration with Jacob Tingle, associate professor of business administration, and Angela Breidenstein, professor of education, McGinlay has helped shape the “Sport in England” program into what it is today. McGinlay recalled that the beginning of the program was “literally on a napkin.” What began as Tingle taking 12 students to Manchester has evolved into a full-blown “Sport in England” program, featuring a 6-hour course with room for 24 students.

“It’s just a great class where you start to get to know each other in the fall, and now you’re living together and eating together and traveling together. So that really bonds the group,” McGinlay said. “There’s a few classes where there’s a really strong emotional bond between the students, and we encourage vulnerability and openness — just be yourself.”

A lot has changed in McGinlay’s program and around the university during his tenure. Still, after 35 seasons, McGinlay remains.

“Coaching at Trinity, it always comes down to the quality of the students. If that were any different, I’d be in a different place, but they’re always impressive,” McGinlay said. “They were impressive back then, and they continue to be that way.”