Chris Higgins is in his fourth season with the NDSU soccer coaching staff in 2025, and his second as Associate Head Coach. Higgins helped guide the Bison to the Summit League Regular Season Championship during the 2024 season.
Higgins was named associate head coach for NDSU soccer on April 17, 2024 after two seasons as an assistant coach. Higgins joined Mike Regan's coaching staff in May of 2022. A former All-American between the pipes, Higgins works primarily with the goalkeepers. The Glasgow, Scotland native has been instrumental in the development of the goalkeeping unit at NDSU, including the crafting of back-to-back Summit League Goalkeeper of the Year winners, with Abby Wilkinson winning the award in 2023 and Payton Mulberry winning the award in 2024.
The goalkeeping unit recorded eight cleansheets in 2024, the most since 2016, including three in a row with three different keepers. NDSU has recorded 21 cleansheets in three seasons under Higgins, after inheriting a unit that had just five cleansheets the previous two years. The goalkeeping unit also produced a 0.99 goals against average, the third straight season the gaa has decreased (1.38 in 2022, 1.06 in 2023) under Higgins, after inheriting a unit that allowed 2.42 the year prior to his arrival.
His tutelage of Wilkinson over two seasons helped her became the first Bison soccer player to sign a professional contract. As a junior, Wilkinson earned all-league honors for the first time in her career and also scooped up a pair of Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Bison defense saw it's save percentage climb over six percent and the goals against average drop over a full goal per game from 2.42 to 1.38. In 2023, Wilkinson continued to improve with a goals against average of 1.06 and a 81.6 save percentage, which helped her receive top Summit League honors between the sticks with first team accolades to go along with Goalkeeper of the Year honors.
Higgins joined the Bison from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, as he helped guide the women’s program to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2021. While in Dubuque, Higgins served as an assistant for the men’s and women’s programs for two seasons. He also served as the recruiting coordinator for the Duhawks. Higgins helped guide Loras to a double American Rivers Conference Championship, as both the men’s and women’s programs claimed conference titles in 2021. The women’s program reached the Final Four and the men reached the second round in the 2021 NCAA Championships.
With Loras, Higgins oversaw the development of two All-ARC Goalkeepers and an All-American as he was a part of the American Rivers Coaching Staff of the Year and NCAA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 2021. His goalkeepers combined for 15 shutouts in 24 games as the women’s program went 21-1-2. Duhawks goalkeepers combined for six ARC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Prior to joining Loras, Higgins coached Xavier (Cedar Rapids) High School Girls Soccer to an Iowa High School State Championship in 2019. Higgins coached Xavier from 2017 through the spring of 2022. He was named the Mississippi Valley Conference Coach of the Year and Private School Coach of the Year following the championship season.
Before leading Xavier, Higgins was a graduate assistant and recruiting coordinator for the women’s soccer team at Mount Mercy University from 2016-2018, including a year as the acting head coach in 2017.
While in Iowa, Higgins also coached with the Olympic Development Program from 2019 until the Spring of 2022, working as the head coach with the girls’ program. Higgins as obtained his UEFA C Coaching License in 2021 and is a UEFA B Coaching License Candidate in 2022.
Prior to his coaching career, Higgins was an NAIA Academic All-American goalkeeper for Ashford University, where he was also the AII First Team and Goalkeeper of the Year. Higgins helped lead Ashford to the NAIA Final Four in 2013. He would go on to lead the Quad City Eagles to the NPSL Midwest Conference Championship in the summer of 2014.
Higgins graduated from Ashford in May of 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and endorsements in coaching and health. Higgins received a master’s degree in Strategic Leadership in June of 2018.
