February 26, 2008
(release courtesy of Dave Blanchard, Luther College sports information director)

DECORAH, IOWA . . . Luther College Director of Athletics Joe Thompson has announced that Kimberly Fair has accepted the position as head coach of women’s soccer.

Fair, a 2002 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan College, joins Luther College after serving five years as an assistant women’s soccer coach at two NCAA Division III institutions.

Following a successful four-year playing career at Virginia Wesleyan, Fair worked for her alma mater for one year (2002-03), before taking the same position at Wilkes University from 2003-05.

While at Wilkes, she earned her MBA in management and helped recruit two classes that turned a program around from a team that finished below .500 in 2002 to a team that won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA III National Tournament in 2005.

In 2006, she returned to her alma mater and helped Virginia Wesleyan to one of the most successful seasons in the women’s soccer program. That year, the Marlins posted a record of 18-4-4 and played their way into the semifinals of the NCAA III national tournament.

Fair has also been a head coach and an assistant girls coach at the high school level as well as a head coach of a number of club teams throughout her career.

During her four years in a Virginia Wesleyan uniform, she was a four-year starter who served as captain and was named team MVP three times. She earned Old Dominion Athletic Conference first-team all-conference honors twice and honorable mention once. Her senior year she was also named to the NSCAA All-South Region as a first-team selection. That same year, she was selected to the CoSIDA Verizon Academic All-District III team.

" I am extremely excited to become a part of the tradition of Luther College and its athletic department,” stated Fair. “I'm joining a program and a department that is well versed in the balance of academics and athletics. I look forward to being in an environment where I am surrounded by championship programs and coaches. I am also eager to help the women's soccer program carry on the winning tradition that has already been established and hope to soon bring it back to the championship caliber it has experienced, with goals set to not only win the Iowa Conference title, but also advance to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.”

"We are fortunate to have a coach with Kim's experience lead the women's soccer program at Luther College,” stated Thompson. “She has enjoyed tremendous success as a coach, and we are excited to have her join the Luther College community."

Luther College is a four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and is located in Decorah, Iowa. The Norse compete in 10 men's and nine women's intercollegiate sports.

As a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) since 1922, the men have won 142 conference championships. In 1982, the IIAC expanded its championship sponsorship to included women’s sports. During this time frame, the women have won 56 championships. Combined, the Norse have won an unmatched 198 IIAC titles.

More information on Luther athletics can be found on the World Wide Web at http://sports.luther.edu.

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