INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — IU Indianapolis is looking for a new women’s soccer head coach. That’s because IU Indianapolis announced on Thursday that longtime women’s soccer head coach Chris Johnson was retiring from coaching to “pursue other opportunities.” “We’re incredibly grateful for Chris and the entire Johnson family for their tireless commitment to the women’s soccer program,” IU Indy Director of Athletics Luke Bosso said in a news release. “He’s built an incredibly recognizable and competitive program that’s known for doing things the right way. His student-athletes represent the university at the highest level and Chris has taken incredible pride in building and sustaining the program the right way. We’ll miss having him on the sidelines but are excited to see what’s next for him.” Johnson, an Indianapolis native, coached the program the last 22 seasons. “I would like to thank my wife, Andrea, for allowing me to pursue my dream of becoming a Division I coach and supporting me all these years,” Johnson said in the news release. “She spent a lot of weekends chasing our kids and managing the house so I could build this program. Without Andrea, I would not be where I am today. I also want to thank my parents, John and Dee, any my sister Angie for supporting me all of these years. They were regular attendees at our home games and made many away games too.“I will forever by grateful to Mike Moore and Denise O’Grady for giving me the opportunity to lead the women’s soccer program at IUPUI 22 years ago. I have been incredibly blessed during my coaching career to have been surrounded by good players and coaches who have helped build the program into what it is today. Without the help of Stacy Pease, Alison Conquest and Rachel Fulkerson, we would not have been able to accomplish as much as we have. I want to thank the three of them, as well as the other coaches who helped me when the position was part-time pay, but they gave full-time effort.” Johnson finishes his IU Indy career with 160 wins during his tenure with the Jags. The 160 wins are the most victories in program history. If you include the wins from his nine seasons at UIndy, before his time at IU Indy, he finishes his head coaching career with 241 total wins. “I want to thank all of the players who picked our program and their parents for entrusting us with their daughters,” Johnson said in the news release. “It was the players and the positive relationships we had that made the job never really feel like a job. I have so many great memories from my time as the coach of the IUPUI women’s soccer program and am honored to have been here for the last 22 seasons.” Johnson led the Jaguars to two NCAA Tournament berths (2009 and 2017). In 2009, he helped the Jaguars set a program record with 17 wins. Then, during the fall of 2017, he helped the Jaguars capture the athletic department’s first Horizon League title in any sport. Before he took over as head coach, the Jaguars had won just 25 matches in the program’s first five seasons. A national search for Johnson’s replacement is underway. Those interested in the position can send materials to Grant Gilbert at [email protected].