****************ROBERT L. McNULTY | MEN’S SOCCER COACH (1966-77)****************
Long before Robert L. McNulty was elected to the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame, the University bestowed the ultimate honor on a man considered a building block of American soccer when it dedicated its playing field to his memory in 1995. On October 10, 2009, NJCU re-dedicated its new soccer stadium in his honor when his family, friends and former players once again unveiled the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. He is inducted into the athletics Hall of Fame posthumously.
McNulty, who passed away in November 1992, coached the Gothics for 12 seasons from 1966-77 and was the winningest coach in program history until 2003. In his first season in 1966, the program posted a 9-1-1 record and placed second in the New Jersey State College Athletic Conference. In 1968, his Jersey City State College team went 5-1-1 in conference play and earned a share of the NJSCAC championship, finishing the season with nine wins (9-4-1).
McNulty coached the Gothics to winning seasons in 1970 (6-4-2), 1972 (5-3-3) and 1975, when JCSC reached double figures in victories for the first time in school history, finishing 12-4-2—something that was not accomplished again until 1998. The 1975 squad qualified for the ECAC Metro Tournament for the first time in program history. The Gothics also finished 6-6 in 1971. He finished his tenure at JCSC with a 68-73-15 record and in 1970 was voted the NJSCAC co-Coach of the Year.
McNulty was one of the 11 original ‘A’ licensed coaches in the nation and his impact on the sport on a local, state and national level made him a significant figure in the sport throughout his life.
As a teaching member of the United States Soccer Federation, he was part of a select group of 11 men who taught the finer techniques of soccer and its rules to thousands of prospective coaches throughout the country. McNulty was co-founder of the New Jersey Soccer Coaches Association in 1968 and Eastern Soccer Coaches Association in 1970. He served as an assistant coach at Rutgers University from 1986 until his death in 1992
A member of the U.S. Olympic Soccer team selection committee, McNulty was inducted into the New Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame in 1995.
