Backus Joins Women’s Soccer Staff

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Marquette University women’s soccer program announced the hiring of Austin Backus as an assistant coach, head coach Chris Allen announced Tuesday.

“We are extremely excited to add Austin to our coaching staff,” Allen said. “We believe his infectious personality, dedication to player development and in-depth tactical analysis will continue to push our program forward both on and off the field. Austin’s varied coaching background at the collegiate, club and high school levels will be very beneficial to our unique culture, and we look forward to the positive impact he will have on our student-athletes and coaching staff here at Marquette.”

Backus joins Marquette from FC Wisconsin, where he works extensively in player development. During his time with the club, he conducts training sessions for youth teams and works with FC Wisconsin’s U13 and U14 ECNL Regional League squads, while also assisting with ECNL and ECNL Regional League teams at the U15 level and above.

Prior to his time with FC Wisconsin, Backus served as the women’s soccer associate head coach at Madison College (Wis.) during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. During his two-year tenure, he helped guide the WolfPack to a 20-7-4 overall record, two NJCAA Tournament berths and seven All-Region selections, highlighted by a 12-3-1 campaign in 2024.

“First off, I am so thrilled to be joining Marquette women’s soccer,” Backus said. “One major thing that stood out to me about this program was the strong culture and clear standard Marquette sets. After meeting with Coach Allen and the rest of the coaching staff, I knew I wanted to be a part of this program. I am excited to work alongside them and bring my strengths both on and off the field to help move the program forward.”

Backus also brings experience at multiple competitive levels across the region. From 2019 to 2024, he served as the U18/U19 girls USL Y head coach, guiding the program to two USL Y national runner-up finishes.

At the high school level, Backus was an assistant coach with the boy’s program at Elkhorn Area High School from 2020 to 2022 and the girl’s program at Catholic Memorial High School from 2020 to 2024. At Elkhorn, he helped the Elks claim three consecutive Southern Lakes Conference championships and WIAA Division I regional titles, with the 2020 squad advancing to the WIAA Division I State Tournament. With Catholic Memorial, he assisted the Crusaders in winning two regional championships and helped guide the program back to the state championship match, finishing as state runners-up in 2024.

A native of Wisconsin, Backus was a four-year letterwinner at Watertown High School, competing as a goalkeeper. He earned his bachelor’s degree in health and human performance from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in 2022.

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NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.