‘Visionary’ Marksberry leaves John Brown for new opportunity
Scott Marksberry, who led the John Brown University men’s soccer program for the past four seasons, has resigned as head coach, athletics director Robyn Daugherty announced Thursday.
Marksberry, who stepped down in order to lead the athletics program at Providence Classical Christian Academy in Rogers, exited his post on Friday.
“JBU athletics is very thankful to Scott for his leadership of the men’s and the women’s programs during his six years at JBU,” said Daugherty. “Scott came in with a vision for the women’s team and laid the foundation that has been key to building a championship team, and then moved to the men’s side to fine-tune the culture and build the program to be a conference and national tournament contender each year.
“Scott is an excellent leader, a great visionary and a builder of team culture. We are sad to see him leave JBU, but are excited for the opportunity he has been given.”
Marksberry joined the Golden Eagles as head women’s soccer coach in 2011, guiding the team to 17-4-4 (.486) overall mark and an appearance in the Sooner Athletic tournament semifinals in his second season.
“I want to thank Robyn Daugherty and Dr. (Chip) Pollard for the opportunity to serve at JBU over the past six years,” Marksberry said. “It is hard for me to imagine that there are many small colleges with a better environment for developing Christ-centered, competitive teams than the one Robyn has developed at JBU. Dr. Pollard has the University on a strong path of maintaining a distinctly Christian identity and high-level academics in an interesting era for higher education.
“I will forever be grateful for the way that my family has been embraced by both the JBU and Siloam Springs community. Working with my team, the JBU coaching staff, and the many professors and administrators who work hard to support JBU’s athletic programs has been a lifechanging opportunity.”
In 2013, the opportunity rose to take the reins of the men’s program, which was coming off a loss in the 2012 SAC tournament title match. After a
rebuilding season, Marksberry led the Golden Eagles to three consecutive winning seasons, including a 35-17-5 (.614) overall mark and back-to-back 13-win seasons in 2015 and 2016. Highlighted by consecutive semifinal appearances in the SAC tournament, Marksberry guided the 2016 edition of the Golden Eagles to its first NAIA National Championships berth since 2003, breaking a 13-year absence from the big dance.
During his tenure, John Brown recorded four victories against top-25 opponents, including a 2015 upset win at No. 3 Oklahoma Wesleyan. JBU’s upstart result proved to be its highest-ranked victory on the road in program history.
The victory was one of many masterful defensive performances exhibited by the Golden Eagles over a four-year stretch, which accentuated Marksberry’s commitment to team defense. As a result, in 2016, JBU posted a new record for goals-against average in a single season (0.71), finally besting the previous mark of 0.75, set back in 1982.
JBU proved particularly difficult to beat at Alumni Field over the past four seasons, posting a 28-7-5 (.700) mark at the State of Arkansas’ first collegiate pitch, including an impressive 10-1-1 mark in 2016.
Personal accolades for Marksberry’s players piled up quickly as 12 studentathletes were named to All-Sooner Athletic teams, including nine-first team selections. He also produced one SAC Player of the Year, SAC Defensive Player of the Year and one SAC Goalkeeper of the Year, in addition to one NAIA All-America honorable mention.
Daugherty will formally announce the fourth head coach in program history July 3.