Mark Cook is in his sixth season at the helm of the North Dakota State soccer program after being named head coach in 2012. He is the fourth head coach in the 20-year history of the program.
Cook helped the Bison claim their second straight Summit League regular season championship in 2016, as North Dakota State compiled an overall record of 10-8-1 and a league mark of 5-2-1. NDSU qualified for its eighth consecutive Summit League tournament and hosted the league tournament at Dacotah Field for the first time in program history. Seven student-athletes received All-Summit League honors. Holly Enderle and Amy Yang earned first team all-league accolades, while Natalie Fenske, Genna Joyce, Lizzie Lukas and Monica Polgar were named second team all-league. Mariah Haberle rounded out the Bison honorees and was named to the all-freshmen team, respectively.
Cook led NDSU to its first Summit League regular season title
since 2009 with a 7-0-1 Summit League record in 2015. It was the first time in program history the Bison finished league play unbeaten. NDSU qualified for its seventh consecutive Summit League tournament and advanced to the tournament championship match for the second time in three seasons before falling to South Dakota State to finish the season at 13-6-1 overall. A program record nine student-athletes earned All-Summit League honors, including Goalkeeper of the Year Sierra Bonham, Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Miller and Freshman of the Year Britney Monteon. In addition, Cook was voted The Summit League Coach of the Year. Miller, along with Amy Yang, were named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team to become the first Bison to be named NSCAA All-Region since 2003 and the first for North Dakota State in the Division I era.
In 2014, Cook led the Bison to an 8-8-2 overall record and a fourth place finish in The Summit League with a league mark of 4-2-2. North Dakota State made its sixth consecutive appearance in The Summit League tournament and had five student-athletes named All-Summit League, including goalkeeper Sierra Bonham, who was named the league's Goalkeeper of the Year after compiling a 0.88 goals-against average with 5.1 shutouts and a save percentage of .839. Bonham was the first-ever NDSU student-athlete to earn the honor.
Cook led NDSU to an overall record of 9-10 and a third place finish in The Summit League with a record of 4-3 in 2013. The Bison advanced to The Summit League tournament championship match with a 2-1 upset win over South Dakota State before falling to Denver to finish runner-up in the event. It was NDSU's fifth straight appearance in the league tournament.
Cook directed the Bison to an 8-10 record in his first season, tying for third place in The Summit League and earning the school's fourth straight bid to the conference tournament.
Cook came to NDSU after serving as the Director of Coaching at the Minnesota Thunder Academy for 11 years, where he grew a four-team program into one of the premier club programs in the Twin Cities with 65 teams in 2012.
He was responsible for all aspects of the club's operation, including the hiring and training of all coaches, coordinating college recruitment programs, recruiting players for the elite girls program, overseeing all competition and practice schedules, and managing the budget.
Under his leadership, Minnesota Thunder Academy placed approximately 85 percent of all club graduates in collegiate soccer programs.
In addition to his role at MTA, Cook was the assistant varsity coach at Bloomington Jefferson High School. The team advanced to the 2010 Minnesota Class 2A quarterfinals and in 2011, he was named the Minnesota Class 2A assistant coach of the year.
Cook served as the head coach for the MTA 94 Elite Clubs National League team from 2007-11. He guided the team to five straight Minnesota State Cup titles, two berths in the ECNL quarterfinals, the 2007 USYSA Region II title and the 2010 USYSA national finals.
He was the head coach of the club team Bangu Tsunami Stars for five years prior and led the team to four Minnesota State Cup championships, the 2005 U.S. Club Soccer national finals and the 2003 USYSA Region II semifinals.
Cook served as the head coach at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minn., from 1998-2002 and led the Stars to the 2002 Class A state title and the 2000 and 2001 state finals. He was named the 2002 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) North Region Coach of the Year.
He was an assistant at Holy Angels for five years prior to taking the head coaching position and was named the 1997 and 1998 Minnesota Class A assistant coach of the year.
Cook holds the United States Soccer Federation 'A' coaching license, the highest certification available in the U.S. He also has the NSCAA Premier License and Director of Coaching Diploma.
He graduated from Alfred (N.Y.) University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in communications. He was the starting goalkeeper at Alfred for two years.
