TOLEDO, Ohio – Mark Batman was officially introduced as the new head women's soccer coach the University of Toledo at a news conference in the Grogan Room at Savage Arena on Friday afternoon.

Batman previously served as head coach for the past 19 seasons at Ohio Northern University, where he is the winningest coach in program history with a record of 253-91-40 and a 136-24-11 record in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play. Under Batman's direction, ONU collected eight regular-season conference titles, made an appearance in the conference tournament every season from 2006-22, and won five OAC Championship crowns, the most recent coming in 2022.

"When I had this opportunity, it was a really tough choice leaving something that was so important to me, but then getting the opportunity to do that same thing here was really, really attractive," said Batman, a native of Yellow Springs, Ohio. "When I think about why I chose to come here, I think of the people. Are they going to support it in the way that we need to be supported? The second piece, the facilities here are terrific. I'm so taken aback about the facilities that we have at our fingertips -- the field, the indoor facility, the locker rooms, the office area. And lastly, the opportunity here. This program is like a sleeping giant, and it's our responsibility to wake this thing up."

Vice President and Director of Athletics Bryan B. Blair said he believes Batman has the skills and experience to help the women's soccer program reach its full potential.

"I entered our search with confidence knowing that our location positions us within a great soccer market and with a lot of great soccer markets withing a 200-mile radius," said Blair. "I entered with confidence knowing the Midwest and our position on the map and our history enables us to reach success and reclaim that position on top of the MAC. And today I have confidence that we found the right next head coach for our program."

Batman is a three-time United Soccer Coaches Association Division III Great Lakes Coach of the Year (2011, '17, and '19), three-time Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association Coach of the Year (2011, '12, and '19), and five-time Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the year (2007, '12, '17, '19, and '21).

Before becoming a coach in 2000, Batman was a two-time First-Team All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference selection and a two-time honorable mention honoree at Wilmington College. As a senior, Batman was selected First-Team All-Great Lakes Region and was named team MVP. He helped his team make two NCAA D-III Tournament Sweet 16 appearances and achieve a No. 12 national ranking.

Batman earned his bachelor's degree in sport management from Wilmington in 2000, and his master's degree in physical education from Loras College (Iowa) in 2003. He holds a Premier Diploma and was a trainer at the United State Women's National Team Training Center from 2013-18.