BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green State University head men's soccer coach Eric Nichols has announced the addition of Stu Riddle to his staff. Riddle, who has been a head coach at three Division-I institutions including a pair of Mid-American Conference schools, joins the Falcons as an assistant coach.

"I am thrilled for our players and our program to be able to bring in such an accomplished coach," said Nichols. "Stu and I have had some epic battles over the years. I have a lot of respect for the talent he is able to recruit and the way his teams compete.

"A special thanks to Derek van der Merwe and our athletic department for making this hire possible. This is a huge move for our program."

Riddle had successful head-coaching stints at both Western Michigan and Buffalo in the MAC, as well as at Northern Kentucky. He was the 2020 Horizon League Coach of the Year at NKU, after guiding the Norse to the league regular-season championship and the program's first national ranking at the Division I level.

Additionally, his NKU clubs recorded just the second and third winning seasons in the Division-I history of the program, and Riddle recorded the most wins in school history (37) of any head coach at that level of competition.

"I would like to thank Coach Nichols for giving me the opportunity to join his staff," said Riddle. "I know the Falcons' program well, and have an enormous amount of respect for what he has done on and off the field during his tenure. I look forward to arriving on campus and beginning this exciting venture."

Prior to NKU, Riddle served as the head men's soccer coach at the University at Buffalo from 2013 until the school eliminated the program for budgetary reasons after the 2016 season. Riddle and the Bulls increased the team's win total every year, going from three wins in his initial campaign to 12 victories in his final season.

Riddle's last two seasons at UB saw him lead the Bulls to back-to-back appearances in the MAC Tournament's championship match. The 2016 club finished with a 12-4-3 record and received votes in the NCAA Division I Poll for five consecutive weeks.

His overall record of 28-32-13 with the Bulls included a record of 19-11-7 over his final two seasons.

Riddle went to UB after a four-year stint at Western Michigan, where he led the Broncos to a pair of MAC Tournament runner-up finishes in 2010 and '11. WMU posted a pair of double-digit win totals during his time in Kalamazoo, and his squads excelled not only on the pitch, but in the classroom as well. The 2012 Broncos had the second-highest team GPA in the nation among Division-I men's soccer programs.

Over his career, seven of his teams earned a team GPA of at least 3.25.

Riddle's resume also includes a head-coaching stint at D'Youville University in Buffalo, N.Y., along with college assistant coaching tenures at Coastal Carolina, Southern Indiana, Evansville and Fairfield. In 2008, his lone season at Fairfield, he helped the Stags win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Riddle played collegiately at Coastal Carolina, where he was a two-time team MVP and was named to the All-Big South Conference Team in both 1997 and '98.

He signed with New Zealand's first ever professional soccer team, the Football Kingz, in 1999. In addition to New Zealand, Riddle played professionally in England (Oxford City), Scotland (Greenock Morton) and Australia (Altona Magic).

Riddle also played in the United States with the Des Moines Menace and West Michigan Edge of the PDL.

Riddle was born in Luton, England, and raised in Wellington, New Zealand. He earned four caps for the 1996 New Zealand national team during Olympic qualifying.

On Aug. 16, 2011, he was sworn in as a naturalized U.S. citizen during an oath ceremony in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Riddle earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from Coastal Carolina in 1998. He earned his Master of Science in Public Administration from Evansville in 2007.