Josh Purdum joined the North Dakota State women's soccer program on March 13, 2018 as an assistant coach. Over the course of his four-year stay with the Bison, Purdum would be elevated to the Associate Head Coach role.
Along with his involvement in tactical development and game day preparation, Purdum took over the goalkeeping core at North Dakota State, training All-Summit League selection Monica Polgar in her final season. Polgar earned All-Summit League second team honors as a senior, finishing the year with 110 saves and six shutouts.Â
Prior to NDSU, Purdum spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky.
While at Eastern Kentucky, Purdum helped lead the Colonels to a share of their first-ever Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular season championship in 2016 and a 13-5-1 overall record. The team also set program records for fewest goals against (15) and total goals (30). In his final season, Purdum assisted EKU to a tie for second-place in the OVC and an 11-5-4 overall record.
Prior to his stint at Eastern Kentucky, Purdum spent one season as an assistant coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. In his lone season at Drake, he helped the Bulldogs to a 4-0-2 record in the Missouri Valley Conference and a share of the 2015 regular season conference title.
Before working at Drake, Purdum served as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Northern Colorado, from 2011-14, where he assisted the Bears to a share of their inaugural Big Sky Conference regular season crown in 2011.
Purdum worked with an all-conference goalkeeper at each of his stops, with five players being honored. He had two goalkeepers earn all-conference honors at Northern Colorado.
Purdum earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Northern Colorado in 2011, and a master's degree in clinical counseling from UNC in 2014. He holds a Premier Diploma and a Goalkeeper Level 2 License from United Soccer Coaches.
Purdum played semi-professional soccer for the Northern Colorado Cutthroats of the Premier Arena Soccer League from 2009-11.
He and his wife, Kelly, resided in West Fargo.
