February 20, 2025
Former Wheaton College Head Men’s Soccer Coach Joe Bean died Thursday, February 13, 2025 at the age of 85. Bean was a revered soccer coach who retired after 37 seasons (1969–2006) at the conclusion of Wheaton’s 2006 NCAA Division III Runner-Up season. During his time at Wheaton, he filled many roles, including as a professor of physical education, director of admissions, head men’s golf coach, and assistant baseball coach.
“I have known Coach Joe Bean for as long as I can remember, going back to when I was five years old,” said Wheaton College President Philip Ryken ’88. “He has always had an encouraging word for me. And no one has better embodied our vision for Wheaton College Athletics: spiritual formation in an environment of competitive excellence.”
At the time of his retirement in 2006, Bean was the most winning men’s soccer coach in collegiate soccer history, winning 607 matches in 45 years with a record of 607-185-61 (74.7%). Today his mark is the second-highest win total in Division III men’s soccer history and third in all of collegiate men’s soccer history.
“Coach Bean was one of the all-time great college soccer coaches,” said Athletic Director Mike Schauer ’93, M.A. ’96. “His coaching resume speaks for itself. But he was also one of the best men I have ever known. I enjoyed every opportunity I got to be around him. He will be deeply missed.”
Bean’s Wheaton teams made 32 postseason appearances with a record of 44-26-3 (a 62.3 winning percentage). Bean guided his squads to five NCAA Division III Final Four appearances, with National Championships in 1984 and 1997. His 1999 and 2006 teams were Division III National Runner-ups and Wheaton’s 1990 team was a National Semifinalist.
He guided the Wheaton men’s soccer program to 14 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championships, and today the conference’s men’s soccer Coach of the Year award is named in his honor. He led Wheaton to five Midwest Metropolitan Soccer Conference (MMSC) Championships, three Illinois-Indiana Soccer Conference (IISC) Championships, and one Michigan-Illinois-Indiana Soccer Conference (MIISC) Championship.
“Joe was more than a coach, and it is a testament to him with how many people that have reached out in the last few hours to the family and his friends,” said Steve McCrath, who serves as Wheaton’s current head men’s soccer coach and is a longtime friend of Bean and his family. “In many cases, it has been people that did not know Joe, but they know the way that he impacted my life and other peoples’ lives in a positive way and because he was so special. That was Joe: he was reaching people that did not know him well.
Joe Bean received many awards and recognitions through the years, including:
- He was the first recipient of the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA)/National Intercollegiate Soccer Official Association (NISOA) “Merit Award for Sportsmanship and Integrity”
- Inducted into the NSCAA (now United Soccer Coaches) Hall of Fame in 2007
- Inducted into the Wheaton Athletic Department’s “Hall of Honor” in 1990
- The soccer field/facility at Wheaton was named Joe Bean Stadium in 2006
- CCIW Men's Soccer Coach of the Year Award named the Joe Bean Coach of the Year Award in 2006
- On October 25, 2006, he became the first men's coach in collegiate soccer history to reach 600 career wins
“Joe had a major impact on both the soccer community and in the Christian soccer community,” McCrath said, reflecting on Bean’s influence. “Many coaches’ lives have changed because of him. He made an impact in their lives for the better because he loved integrity, and he loved Jesus. He cared that people knew the truth.”
Bean is survived by his wife, Shirley. The couple has four children: Laurie (Narup), Pam (Thonn), JT, and TJ, in addition to numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.