Auburn Athletics Director John Cohen began Monday’s introductory press conference of new women’s soccer head coach James Armstrong quoting Occam's Razor.
“Occam's Razor states the simplest explanation is usually preferable to the one that's more complex. The decision to hire James Armstrong was not complex. James Armstrong is an Auburn man married to an Auburn woman,” Cohen said.
Armstrong, a former assistant under Karen Hoppa from 2013-18, returns back to the Plains where he got engaged and married to his wife Casey and his daughter Olivia was born.
“The connections we have with Auburn run deep with us celebrating many personal milestones here,” Armstrong said. “These moments hold a special place in our hearts, but beyond the personal milestones, we are returning to Auburn because we know this is a place where championships can be won.”
Auburn women's soccer head coach James Armstrong poses with the Tigers' athletics director John Cohen prior to answering questions at his introductory press conference.
This past season, Armstrong led the Bulldogs to its first SEC regular season championship with a perfect 10-0-0 conference record – only the fourth team in league history to accomplish the feat.
Armstrong, winningest coach in program history, led Mississippi State to a 19-3-0 overall record in 2024, marking the highest win total in school history while finishing the regular season ranked in the top five nationally and was named the 2024 SEC Coach of the Year.
“If he's not the National Coach of the Year, I will make some calls, because that would be borderline ridiculous,” Cohen said. “He ought to be the National Coach of the Year. Hopefully that's going to happen.”
The last two seasons of Armstrong’s six season tenure in Starkville, MS ended in back-to-back trips to the sweet sixteen. In the past three years combined, Armstrong’s 43 overall wins were third among SEC schools and his 19 conference wins were the second most in the league.
“Having been here for six years, been in the league since 2013 we know what it takes to win,” Armstrong said. “Auburn has all of the resources. It's an incredible institution. Recruits will be excited to visit here. You know, the current team graduated a lot, but there's some unbelievable young talent that are hungry to be provided the opportunity.”
The Tigers graduated 13 seniors following an exit in the round of 32 and fifth place finish in the SEC. For Armstrong and his new staff ‘the most important thing right now is to get to know the players’ as they set out to mimic the success Mississippi State has seen the past three seasons.
“There's a lot of young players that maybe haven't had the minutes yet, but watching film, watching film on practice, there's some great talent there. So identifying what they're capable of doing is one of the things I'm most excited about,” Armstrong said.
While the Tigers’ newest leader of the women’s soccer program isn’t exactly a native to Auburn, AL, originally from Yorkshire, England, Monday afternoon’s introductory press conference felt like a homecoming for Armstrong as the 23-year head coach Karen Hoppa passed the baton to her former assistant head coach.
“An incredible honor and privilege and building the legacy of Coach Hoppa and writing the next chapter of this program's future,” Armstrong said. “Coach Hoppa brought me to the plains in 2013, 11 years ago, and I will be forever grateful for the mentorship, guidance and friendship in preparing me for my college coaching career.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
