Chris Tinius was hired as the head coach of the Bellarmine University women's soccer team in June of 2014.
Tinius will enter his eighth season in fall of 2021.
In the spring of 2021, Tinius guided the program through its first season in Division I. The Knights' first-ever D1 win came on a 1-0 victory over ASUN counterpart Liberty, an NCAA Tournament team. Bellarmine went 2-6-3 but fell by more than one goal only once while holding opponents to one goal or less in eight of 11 games. In their inaugural season in the ASUN, the Knights saw two players recognized with All-Conference laurels while the team had 100-percent inclusion (26 of 26) on the conference's Honor Roll.
Prior to joining DI, Tinius built a 73-25-22 record over six seasons in DII, including a 53-14-20 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Tinius guided the Knights to three appearances in the DII NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2015 that followed a GLVC regular-season title. That season Tinius was named GLVC Coach of the Year and Midwest Region Coach of the Year. Mary Beth Gorham (2015) and Taylor Smith (2017) were both recognized as DII All-Americans during his tenure, along with 29 All-GLVC accolades, 19 All-Region acknowledgements, a GLVC Offensive Player of the Year nod (Gorham, 2015) and a GLVC Freshman of the Year laurel (Olivia Taylor, 2016).
Bellarmine went 12-5-3 in 2019, its final season in DII. That output represented the fifth time in six seasons that the Knights amassed at least 11 wins under Tinius. Not only did the Knights' defense tie a program record for fewest goals allowed with eight, its .379 goals-against average ranked third nationally.
Bellarmine posted an 11-6-3 record in 2018. The Knights advanced to the GLVC Tournament finals for the first time since 2011. Bellarmine's defense allowed 17 goals, tying the ninth-lowest output in program history.
In 2017, Tinius guided Bellarmine to its third DII NCAA Tournament appearance in four years, where the Knights romped 3-0 over No. 20 Ohio Valley in the opening round. Tinius' squad developed into an elite defensive unit, finishing third in the nation in goals-against average (.381) while setting a single-season program record for fewest goals allowed (eight) and shutouts (13). Goalkeeper Smith became Tinius' second All-American at Bellarmine following forward Gorham in 2015.
In 2016, Tinius led Bellarmine to yet another double-digit win season as the Knights went 11-3-4. In addition, Taylor earned Freshman of the Year accolades.
In only his second season at Bellarmine, Tinius guided the Knights to their first-ever appearance in the Sweet 16 of the DII NCAA Tournament following their first-ever GLVC regular-season championship. In addition, Tinius led Bellarmine to program records in overall wins (17), GLVC winning percentage (86.7) and unbeaten streak (13) while tying the program record for GLVC victories (12). For his efforts, which included overseeing the development of the program's first first-team All-American and first GLVC Offensive Player of the Year in Gorham, Tinius was named the GLVC Coach of the Year and the Midwest Region Coach of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches.
His first season overseeing the Knights was a smashing success. In 2014, Tinius guided Bellarmine to a 14-4-3 overall record and the program's fourth appearance in the DII NCAA Tournament. Once there, Bellarmine defeated Michigan Tech to advance to the Midwest Region semifinals. In addition, the Knights went 11-1-3 in the GLVC and finished in second place while gaining the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. For his part, Tinius had the winningest season of any first-year coach at Bellarmine while becoming the first to lead the Knights into the DII NCAA Tournament in his debut year. Bellarmine's offense ranked in the top four in program history for goals scored and the defense was a top-10 unit for fewest goals allowed.
Prior to arriving at Bellarmine, Tinius was as an assistant and associate head coach at Western Kentucky for seven seasons. He helped lead the Hilltoppers to a combined record of 87-32-23 with a pair of regular-season Sun Belt Conference Championships. Six of those teams earned "Academic All-American Team" awards from the United Soccer Coaches.
Tinius is originally from Bowling Green, where he played on the WKU men's soccer team from 1999-02 and helped the Bowling Green High School soccer team to two state runner-up finishes. In 2005, he was a graduate assistant coach at Troy, where he helped the squad qualify for its first-ever conference tournament berth.
The following year, Tinius joined the coaching staff at Georgia Southern, where he was responsible for recruiting, monitoring academics and on-field coaching. He helped the Eagles more than double their win total from 2005 and qualify for their first conference tournament since 2002. GSU upset No. 2 seed Davidson in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament, advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2001.
Tinius resides in Louisville with his wife, Ashley, and sons Wesley and Fritz.
