Seth Roland (born 1957) is the head coach of the Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team, a position he has held since 1997. As a player, he won a silver medal with Team USA at the 1981 Maccabiah Games in Israel. As a coach of Team USA, he won a bronze medal at the 1993 Maccabiah Games. His FDU team has won eight
NEC
is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...
championships and made it to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. As of 2022, he was the winningest coach in FDU men's soccer history, the winningest coach in
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
history, and the ninth active-winningest-coach in
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
. He was named 2000
Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Coach of the Year
The Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Coach of the Year is a soccer award given to head coaches in the Northeast Conference (NEC). The award is granted to the head coach voted to be the most successful that season by the league's coaches. The award ...
.
Early and personal life
Roland is a native of
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...
. His parents were Doris Leah (nee Rubin) Roland, a psychologist, and Leonard Roland, a chemical engineer. In 2000 his wife Marjorie died from brain cancer. He and his wife Julia have two daughters, Hannah and Laura, and a son, Daniel.
Playing career
College
Roland attended the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, where he played soccer and was a starting midfielder for the Quakers for three years, and was named All-
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
. At Penn he earned a Bachelor of Arts in History, and a Master of Science in Education.
Maccabiah Games
He represented the United States in four
Maccabiah Games
The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...
tournaments in Israel, winning a
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
in the 1981 Maccabiah Games, as he was the leading scorer on the team—he also represented Team USA at the
1977 Maccabiah Games
At the 10th Maccabiah Games in Israel, more than 2,800 athletes from 34 countries participated in 26 different sports, including chess and bridge.
The opening ceremonies were held on July 12, 1977, in Ramat Gan Stadium before a crowd of 50,000 p ...
1989 Maccabiah Games
The 13th Maccabiah Games brought 4,500 athletes to Israel from 45 nations.
Jewish athletes from Hungary participated for the first time since World War II, Jewish athletes from Russia had been permitted, by their country, to play for the first ti ...
2009 Maccabiah Games
The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...
, and
2022 Maccabiah Games
The 2022 Maccabiah Games ( he, משחקי המכביה 2022) took place in Israel from July 14–25, 2022, and are also referred to as the 21st Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-21). The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from arou ...
.
College
He was the Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
from 1980–81, and the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at the
College of Staten Island
The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a public university in Staten Island, New York. It is one of the 11 four-year senior colleges within the City University of New York system. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studie ...
from 1981-82. Roland was then the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at
Christopher Newport University
Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia. It was founded in 1960 and is named after Christopher Newport, captain of one of the ships which carried settlers of Jamestown, the first permanent English ...
from 1982–87, and the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at the
University of Bridgeport
The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own ...
(
New England Collegiate Conference
The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division III, Division III List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference based in the Northeastern Uni ...
) from 1987-92. He was then the Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach at the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
(
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...
) from 1992-97.
A resident of
Tenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly () is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409,Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team in the
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
since 1997. He was named 2000
Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Coach of the Year
The Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Coach of the Year is a soccer award given to head coaches in the Northeast Conference (NEC). The award is granted to the head coach voted to be the most successful that season by the league's coaches. The award ...
. As of 2022, he was the winningest coach in FDU men's soccer history (223-186-65, .538), the winningest coach in Northeast Conference history (115-60-37, .626), and the ninth active-winningest-coach in
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...