MacMurray College Athletics lost a large piece of its history last Tuesday.
Former Men’s Soccer Head Coach Bill Killen passed away on December 20th at his home in Fulton, Missouri. He was 81.
Killen was a distinguished soccer player, helping West Chester to an NCAA national championship in 1961 and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. He was also named an All-American in 1962. He earned a spot on Team USA for the 1962 Pan Am Games and was selected as an alternate for the 1964 Olympic Team.
After his playing days, Killen enjoyed 44 years of coaching at the collegiate level which included tenures at UNC-Chapel Hill, CCNY, Orange County (N.Y.) Community College, Hartwick (N.Y.) College, University of Akron, Yale University, Old Dominion and finally at MacMurray College.
Killen logged more than 200 wins at Macand led the school to three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. He was named the 1990 SLIAC coach of the year, the 1991 NSCAA Midwest Region coach of the year and earned the 1997 Walt Chyzowych Award, given to an individual for lifetime achievement and dedication to advancing the game of soccer.
Killen was one of the first developmental coaches for the U.S. Soccer Federation and he helped develop a soccer program for Special Olympics. In 2006, he received the U.S. Youth Soccer’s Ron Wigg Award for his work and development of youth soccer. He was also inducted into the Delaware County (Pa.) Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994, the West Chester University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011 and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2016.
Killen is survived by his wife Billie of 59 years, 4 daughters, and 8 grandchildren.
Cremation rites have been accorded and a private family celebration of life will be held.