University of Massachusets Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1999
- Class:
- 1975
Kalekeni Banda was the head women's soccer coach from 1980 through 1987, when he compiled a 120-25-10 (.806) record with the program. Banda led the Minutewomen to six consecutive NCAA appearances, including five straight trips to the final four.
In 1987, the team was the national runner-up, falling to North Carolina 1-0 in the national championship game. He left the university in 1987, after coaching 20 all-America selections and 31 All-New England choices.
A native of Malawi, Africa, Banda also served as women's track and field coach for eight years. The 1975 graduate of the University of Massachusetts also served as the head men's soccer coach at the University of Wisconsin from 1997-2001 in addition to tenures at Amherst College and UAlbany.
Banda formed the Banda Bola Sports Foundation and the Chituka Village Project in 2007-08, fulfilling a life-long desire to help and serve the children in his beloved homeland of Malawi.
He was inducted into the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
