Rockford University

Ethan Higgins became Rockford University's head men's soccer coach in July 2025. Higgins joins the Regents with coaching experience at the NCAA Division III, club and high school levels. 

Higgins spent two seasons as a goalkeeper coach at Penn State Harrisburg prior to coming to Rockford. The Lions went a combined 22-9-10, including a 9-1-4 mark in the United East Conference over those two years. Penn State Harrisburg qualified for the United East Conference Tournament twice and advanced to the semifinals, where the Lions fell to the eventual champion each year. Higgins was heavily involved in all facets of the program including: recruiting, training and film sessions, pregame planning, scouting and film breakdown. However, his primary focus was with the goalkeepers, who were selected Second Team All-Conference each year. 

Coach Higgins also spent time as an assistant at Millikin University and at both the club and high school levels in Pennsylvania. While at Millikin, Higgins assisted the head coach in running the men's soccer program. Some of his duties included recruiting, creating and implementing team training sessions, running pregame warm-ups, holding player meetings and gameday planning. 

Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Higgins played collegiate soccer at Elizabethtown College for three seasons, with his fourth being canceled because of covid. The Blue Jays compiled a 28-18-9 overall record, including an 11-5-5 mark in the Landmark Conference with him on the squad. They qualified for the Landmark Conference Tournament all three years and advanced to the conference tournament championship match twice (2019 and 2022). 

Higgins earned his bachelor's degree in Health Science from Elizabethtown College.