Hale Extended Through 2030

FAYETTEVILLE – Coming off the program’s fifth Southeastern Conference championship in the last seven seasons and the program’s 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the University of Arkansas has signed head women’s soccer coach Colby Hale to a new employment agreement that extends Hale’s tenure in Fayetteville through December 31, 2030.

“Our soccer program under Coach Hale’s leadership has become one of the elite programs, not only in the Southeastern Conference but in all of college soccer,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. “The efforts of he and his staff as program builders have produced a golden era of Razorback Soccer during his tenure. The five SEC championships and 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament speak loudly for themselves as the only ones in our program’s history. We’re thrilled to continue helping Coach Hale elevate Arkansas soccer.”

Hale recently completed his 13th season as head soccer coach at the University of Arkansas after being named to the position on Dec. 21, 2011. Hale has compiled a record of 174-80-29 with the Razorbacks. He has led the Razorbacks to five SEC Championships (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025) and has been named SEC Coach of the Year four times (2019, 2020, 2023, 2025).

“We are very excited to continue the work we have started here at Arkansas,” Coach Colby Hale said. “The success of our program is a reflection of the collective efforts of our student-athletes, assistant coaches, staff members, administrators, Razorback Foundation members and fans. Although we have accomplished a lot over the past few years, we still have goals left to achieve as a program. I want to thank Hunter Yurachek for his continued support of our program. We’re all looking forward to the work with our student-athletes to keep improving and striving for greatness.”

Since taking over the program, Hale and the Razorbacks have reached the NCAA Tournament 12 times, the only times the program has ever reached the postseason. He’s also overseen 32 all-region players, 60 all-conference selections, eight All-Americans, three Academic All-Americans, one scholar All-American and over 200 SEC Academic Honor Roll selections.

The Razorbacks added their fifth SEC regular-season title in 2025 and picked up ranked wins at No. 11 BYU and against No. 17 Vanderbilt and No. 13 Mississippi State. Arkansas won 10 matches and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where Hale led the Razorbacks to the second weekend for the eighth straight year. Five Razorbacks earned All-SEC honors: Kennedy Ball (First Team), Bella Field (Second Team), Vailana Tu’ua (Second Team, Freshman Team), Makenzie Malham (Second Team) and Avery Wren (Third Team). Hale was named SEC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career. Arkansas was ranked inside the top 10 in total attendance (19,708) and average attendance (1,971) for the third straight year.

The Razorbacks open the 2026 season on Aug. 12 against Baylor.

For more information on Arkansas women’s soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on social media.