SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State head men's soccer coach Michael Linenberger announced Wednesday that he is retiring from the position after spending the last 36 years at the helm of the Hornets' program.
"I have had the privilege of working under four university presidents and eight athletic directors during my 38 years at Sacramento State," Linenberger said. "I have numerous people to thank for all their support during my tenure here: all my assistant coaches — especially Matt McDougall; all the athletic trainers and medical personnel; all the academic support staff — especially Paul Edwards and Laurie Dahlberg; all the athletic administrators and department support staff; and especially the hundreds of student-athletes whom I have had the honor of coaching.
"In addition, I want to thank my family — my wife, Michelle; my son, Matthew; and my daughter, Melisa — for all the sacrifices they made in allowing me to work for so long in this very stressful and time-consuming profession. I couldn't have asked for a more rewarding career, but now it is time for me to move on to the next phase of my life. I will forever be a Hornet and wish Sacramento State nothing but success."
The longest-tenured head coach in the university's history, he is one of four Hornet head coaches to hold their position for more than 30 years along with former head women's gymnastics coach Kim Hughes (34 years), head women's volleyball head coach Debby Colberg (32 years), and head baseball coach John Smith (32 years).
Linenberger has had a hand in directing the Sacramento State men's soccer program since 1989, which ranked sixth among active NCAA Division I head coaches entering the 2026 fall campaign behind only Merrimack's Tony Martone (44 years), Dr. Dave Masur at St. John's (39), San Jose State's Simon Tobin (39), Hofstra's Richard Nuttel (37), and Clemson's Mike Noonan (37). Among the top 10 active head coaches entering this season, Linenberger is one of only four to spend every season at one school, joining Martone, Nuttel, and Lehigh's Dean Koski.
"For nearly four decades, Coach Linenberger's commitment to the program and the many student-athletes that have come under his mentorship has been unwavering," Director of Athletics Mark Orr said. "His constant pursuit of excellence and dedication to, not only the department, but the university community as a whole, has established a legacy that extends far beyond wins and championships.
"He has helped shape the lives of hundreds of student-athletes during his time as a Hornet, has represented our university with integrity and class, and his presence on the sidelines will be truly missed. I congratulate Coach Linenberger on an extraordinary career and wish him happiness in a retirement that has been well-earned."
A mainstay on campus since arriving as an assistant in 1988, he assumed the mantle of co-head coach of the program in 1989 alongside Paul Arellanes, helping usher Sacramento State into the Division I era in 1991 and posting a 26-17-3 record during those three seasons. In 1992, he took over as head coach and has been on the sidelines ever since.
During his tenure, Linenberger has been named conference coach of the year four times — earning three awards as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2001, 2005, and 2009, while picking up Big West Conference Coach of the Year laurels in 2014, just two years after joining the league.
Over that time, Linenberger has guided Sacramento State to 234 career victories and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths in 2009 and 2010, winning its first-round match-ups against Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara, respectively, before falling to nationally seeded UCLA in the second round.
His teams twice won the MPSF regular season title in 2001 and 2009, while laying claim to back-to-back MPSF tournament crowns in 2009 and 2010, posting a combined 23-11-10 overall record and an 8-2-7 mark in league play in those two seasons.
While in the MPSF (1992-2011), Linenberger helped mentor 72 student-athletes to all-conference honors (including 20 first-team selections), 44 league all-academic team selections, 16 MPSF all-tournament team selections, two tournament MVPs (Fernando Cabadas in 2009 and Chris Bettencourt in 2010), a conference player of the year (Ernesto Carranza in 2009), and a league newcomer of the year (Jeff Buddenbohn in 2005).
From there, he helped usher the Hornets into yet another new era, joining the Big West Conference in 2012, finishing with eight wins overall and a 5-4-1 record in their league debut. Four student-athletes were named to the All-Big West honor roll that year, including a pair of first-team selections in Matt Linenberger and Casey Bernard.
Since then, Sacramento State has qualified for the Big West Tournament four times, making its debut in 2014 and advancing to the semifinals in 2016 after finishing second in the North Division during the regular season. In 2022, the Hornets ended a four-year tournament drought, qualifying as the No. 6 seed.
In the 14 seasons as members of the Big West, Linenberger has helped coach 29 student-athletes to a total of 35 All-Big West honors, placed 16 student-athletes on the conference's all-freshman team, and has seen success in the classroom with his charges named to the Big West All-Academic Team a total of 81 times. He has also had a player named the league's midfielder of the year (Paul Geyer, who was also a three-time all-conference selection, in 2017) and freshman of the year (Benji Kikanovic, who was also a two-time all-conference selection, in 2018).
In addition, seven student-athletes have been named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region team — Joe Enochs (1991), Sean Luigs (2001), Carranza (2009), Cabadas (2009), Geyer (2017), Austin Wehner (2022), and Donovan Sessoms (2025) — and three players earned a total of five all-region scholar-athlete awards.
After college, Linenberger has seen 41 of his student-athletes go on to professional soccer careers, including six players who have been drafted by Major League Soccer teams: Brandon Cavitt (1996 - Dallas Burn), John Jones (1997 - LA Galaxy), Carranza (2011 - Chivas USA), Cabadas (2011 - New England Revolution), Chimdum Mez (2015 - San Jose Earthquakes), and Donovan Sessoms (2024 - San Diego FC).
Other notable Hornets to go on to professional careers include Jamel Mitchell, who appeared with the MLS Kansas City Wizards in 1997; Mark Baena, who played in Germany for three seasons after college, then returned to the United States to compete in the USISL where he starred for the Seattle Sounders, earning league MVP honors, and was inducted into the USL Hall of Fame in 2003; Joe Enochs, who spent the majority of his career overseas in Germany with VfL Osnabruck and earned one cap with the United States National Team in 2001 against Ecuador; and Max Alvarez, who followed up his collegiate career by playing in the USL for the Sacramento Republic FC, helping his club to a USL championship in his first season
Off the field, Linenberger was named to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Selection Committee in the fall of 1997 for a five-year term, serving as chair of the Far West Region and having a hand in selecting the 48 teams that compete annually in the NCAA Tournament. His duties included overseeing site selection in the Far West Region for all rounds leading up to the Men's College Cup, updating selection criteria and standards for the championships, rating conferences and serving at the College Cup as a member of the NCAA contingent which oversees the event.
From 2008 to 2011, Linenberger was also head coach of the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program for Region IV, overseeing all five age groups between U-14 and U-18 in the western 14 states. Linenberger was in charge of coach selection, player selection and the overall training curriculum. In addition, Linenberger was named a scout by the U.S. Soccer Federation for Project 2010, an initiative designed to make the men's national team fully competitive by the 2010 World Cup. His primary duties included the scouting of 13-14 year olds in Northern California that had future national team potential but were not in the ODP system.
Linenberger received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Duke University in 1987. He was a four-year letter winner as a member of the Blue Devils' soccer team and a team captain of the 1986 squad which won the NCAA Division I national championship. In 2019, Linenberger and his national championship team was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame.
Following his brilliant collegiate career, Linenberger played professionally with the Sacramento Senators and for FC St. Pauli and SC Norderstedt in Germany's second and third divisions.
