Brian Copham enters his eighth season as an assistant coach at Samford University and his sixth season as the top assistant under head coach Todd Yelton. He joined the Bulldogs' coaching staff as the second assistant in 2000 and was promoted to the first assistant position in 2002.
His duties include on-field coaching and recruiting, as well as overseeing Samford's annual soccer youth camps.
In five seasons as a key assistant under Yelton, Copham has helped guide the Bulldogs to a 61-26-14 overall record and four straight Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championships.
Copham has been instrumental in Samford's recruiting efforts. In 2002, the team began a youth-based resurgence with 10 incoming freshmen.
The Bulldogs have had five recruiting classes ranked regionally by Soccer Buzz magazine and four received national rankings. In 2003, Samford's recruiting class was named the No. 19 class in the Southeast Region.
Samford's 2004 class was tabbed as 14th-best in the Southeast and the No. 79 class in the nation. The 2005 squad earned a No. 16 regional ranking and was listed as the country's 91st-best group.
Last season, Soccer Buzz Magazine tabbed the Bulldogs' 2006 recruits as the No. 85th-ranked squad in the nation, while the more recent 2007 recruiting class continued Samford's national prowess as the 68th-ranked group in the country.
Before coming to Samford, Copham coached soccer at Hoover High School in metropolitan Birmingham from 1999 to 2000.
In college, Copham played three seasons for the top-25 ranked University of Alabama at Birmingham and received the Coaches' Award in 1998. After completing his eligibility at UAB, Copham was on staff with the Blazers for their run to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1999.
While a student at UAB, Copham received numerous academic awards, including being named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll several times. He earned a degree in civil and environmental engineering in 1999. In the spring of 2004, he completed a master's degree in civil engineering at UAB.
Copham played with the Birmingham semiprofessional soccer team, the Alabama Saints, during the 1998 season. Over the years, Copham also has coached various local clubs in the Birmingham area.
In addition to his current duties at Samford, Copham is on the Alabama Olympic Development Program staff. He has earned his USSF A license, along with the NSCAA Goalkeeper 1 license.
Born in Seminole, Fla., Copham is a 1995 graduate of Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Ala.
