After his playing career as a standout midfielder at SMU, Kevin Hudson pursued what many would consider “real life.” He went to graduate school, earning a Master’s in the science of accountancy from Notre Dame before beginning a career as a senior auditor and transaction advisory specialist.

Kevin Hudson is the fourth head coach in the history of the SMU team for which he played from 2000-03 (photo by SMU athletics).

But for the new SMU men’s soccer head coach, something was missing.

“It was a good career, an exciting and fast-paced career,” Hudson said of his stint in the corporate world. “I was traveling a lot and making a good living. But when there is something you have done your whole life, and then suddenly you’re not doing it, you realize something’s missing in your life. I liked my job, but it wasn’t fulfilling, I wasn’t passionate about it.”

When Schellas Hyndman, the Mustangs’ long-time coach, offered Hudson a chance to try coaching as a first-year assistant coach in 2007, Hudson took it. He quickly became a valuable asset to the staff under Hyndman, and then Tim McClements, contributing heavily in everything from scouting opponents to recruiting to putting together game plans and directing training sessions. His loyalty to his alma mater and coaching acumen paid off for Hudson, who was named Jan. 9 as the Mustangs’ fourth head coach.

“I didn’t love my (financial) job, but here … I get up every morning and I get to coach this team. I get to work on one of the five best fields in the country, work in a great training environment and coach kids who want to play hard and get better and win. As a job … it’s not really a job. I do it because I love it.

“I do it because it’s what I like to do, and I’m fortunate (Hyndman) thought enough of me that he took a chance on me, and that (McClements) kept me on his staff when he didn’t have to, and now that (SMU athletic director) Rick Hart thought I was the right leader.”

Hudson acknowledged that when McClements took over for Hyndman, there was a real chance Hudson might have been forced to make another career move.

“Without (Hyndman) giving me the opportunity, I’m not sitting here now,” he said. “He didn’t have to give the opportunity to a guy with so little coaching experience, but he trusted me, he knew I was a good guy, he knew I’m loyal and he knew I would work hard. He believed in me.

“When Tim took over, he was under no obligation to keep me, but he did. I owe both of them a lot. They both took a chance on me and helped make me a better coach.”

Hudson was a standout player for the Mustangs from 2000-03, playing on the SMU team that reached the College Cup team in his freshman season. As a senior, he was a first-team NSCAA/adidas All-Midwest Region honoree, was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Following his senior season, he was the 44th overall selection in the 2004 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by D.C. United.

Former SMU teammates said that Hudson’s athletic ability and technical skill were readily apparent when they were teammates, but said that it’s Hudson’s preparation that ultimately will make him successful, whether as a coach or if he had stayed in an office job.

“He definitely has the passion for soccer,” former SMU midfielder David Chun said, “but he puts in the time, he puts in the work. He did the so-called ‘simple things’ right, but those simple things go a long way in academics, soccer, business and life.”

“As a player, you could tell ‘Huddy’ was very intelligent, just by the way he played the game,” former SMU forward Duke Hashimoto said. “Even though he was one of the most technical and tricky guys on the team, he made very simple decisions during games, which is really the hardest part of the game. He was one of the guys that you know you could play the ball to and he wouldn’t lose possession. He could easily snake a guy in the corner and make him fall down, but most of the time he was just working hard and playing simple soccer.”

That Hudson is taking over the program where he excelled as a player and an assistant coach almost didn’t happen; during last offseason, he was hired away by the University of North Carolina. Reversing the decision was, to say the least, uncomfortable.

Hudson was hired last summer by the University of North Carolina, only to turn down the opportunity in order to return to his alma mater (photo by SMU athletics).

“I’m very grateful to (UNC head coach) Carlos (Somoano),” Hudson said. “I believed I could coach when I was hired (at SMU), but when Carolina hired me, that sort of confirmed it. That’s a great soccer school, and so is SMU, but I played here, I knew Schellas. For a school like Carolina to hire me reaffirmed to me that was on the right track.”

But before he and his wife, Christina, headed off for Chapel Hill, SMU intervened, offering to promote Hudson to associate head coach if he would stay.

“I came back because it was home,” Hudson said. “The program I love said, ‘we need you.’ Christina was great — she was excited when I got hired at North Carolina, and she was excited when I got the opportunity to stay here. She loves Dallas — we love Dallas — and we have a lot of great relationships here. When I first left public accounting to come to SMU as an assistant, she told me then that ‘you have to do what you love to do, do what you believe is best in your life. I'm supportive and I'll be with you.’ She has been a big part of every decision I have made, and has been incredibly supportive.”

Hudson echoed the sentiments of many coaches when asked about the most important aspects of being a head coach.

“Leadership and talent acquisition,” he said. “If we get the leadership right, and we get the talent, we’re going to win. I told that to the guys the first time I got to address them.

“They know I played here. I have been here a long time — I have 12 years in this program. I played in the 2000 NCAA final four, and I told them that we, as a group, will not hide from the history, tradition and expectations of this program. A lot of good players — great players — have played here, and won a lot of games, but ultimately those great SMU players and great SMU teams won trophies. We haven’t won it all yet, but we have a very rich tradition here, and we will live up to the expectations that come with playing in a program like this. We want to recruit the best players in the country, guys who want to get a great degree, and after four years want to become professionals if the opportunity is presented to them. You get guys like that, and you have a chance to win a lot of games.”

Those who have played with and for Hudson said that in addition to the credentials he brings to his job — his knowledge of the game, work ethic, intelligence, etc. — the fact that he is coaching the team on which he once played will increase his desire to succeed even more.

Mynor Gonzalez, a former defender who played with Hudson at SMU, said that Hudson’s past as an SMU player can only help his career as the Mustangs’ new coach.

“I believe it does,” Gonzalez said. “He was a fantastic player and was doing a great job as an assistant coach. His past as a player at SMU only adds to his credibility as a coach. Imagine this: he is going to be leading the team and the same time, he will be able to tell the players, ‘when I was in your shoes, I did this. SMU was ranked at this level during those years, and we went to the final four one of those years. Those are my goals for the team, and I know we can achieve them, because I achieved them when I was in your shoes.’”

Kevin Hudson and the Mustangs reached the NCAA College Cup during his freshman season on the Hilltop (photo by SMU athletics).

Midfielder John Lujano, who was a co-captain as a junior in 2014, echoed what Gonzalez said about Hudson’s pride in the program for which he once played, and said his background as an SMU player offers Hudson a chance to feel a sense of passion that a non-alum could not.

“Coach Hudson is always talking about the history of the program as something he is very proud of,” Lujano said. “So I think that is really the one thing that he brings as an alum that another candidate would not be able to bring.”

Of more recent importance to Hudson’s future is the current program that he and assistant coach Alex Aldaz, who is remaining a part of the staff under Hudson, helped build under McClements (SMU has begun the process of a national search to fill the extra assistant coaching position). Hudson and Aldaz are relentless recruiters for a team that featured an outstanding class of newcomers (freshmen plus transfer forward Idi Camara) in 2014; in a sport in which players often commit to their college of choice as juniors or sometimes even sophomores, the Mustangs pulled in a 2015 recruiting class (announced in early February) that is being universally hailed as one of the best in the nation.

“Acquisition of talent is everything,” Hudson said. “I know that, Alex knows that. The greatest coach in the world isn’t going to be very successful without players. We will go after the best possible players, because SMU always has had elite players. SMU offers a combination of a great education, top-level soccer and an incredible city in which to live that not many schools can offer. If we can go find the players, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to get them here — SMU just has too much to offer.”

How good the Mustangs will be in his first season at the helm won’t be known until the fall. SMU was much improved in 2014, finishing with a 10-6-2 record despite rolling out an incredibly young team; in their last game of the year, the Mustangs started nine players who either were in their first year on the roster or had very little prior experience. The improving roster will be bolstered by the standout class of incoming freshmen, causing expectations that the program is n its way back into national relevance, and eventually prominence. Hudson said there will be schematic “tweaks” to the existing system, although he declined to specify what those changes will be.

“We won 10 games last year with a bunch of freshmen out there, so we’ll do a lot of the same things, but there will be some changes, too,” he said. “But we’re not changing everything — there won’t be a complete overhaul. We had a very young team last year, and we’re bringing in some very talented players, some of whom can contribute right away.

“I like this team a lot — that’s part of why I’m so excited to be the next head coach. SMU is a place where the soccer program is expected to be successful, to be one of the elite teams in the country, and as we grow as a program and continue recruiting, we will get back there. With the tradition we have here, and everything SMU has to offer to players, there’s no reason we can’t recruit the players we need to continue to get better every year, to get this program back to the level where it once was, and hopefully beyond that.”