Coaches

Jaime Ramirez

Jaime Ramirez joined the head coaching ranks at Fresno Pacific in 1991 after serving as an assistant for nine years.


Ramirez is a four time Hall of Fame inductee having been honored by Fresno Pacific, Clovis High School, Clovis Unified and Fresno County.


In 32 seasons, Ramirez has coached the Sunbird men to a 350-201-41 record that includes a pair Pacific West Conference Championships (2013, 2015), eight Golden State Athletic Conference Championships (1991, 92, 98, 99, 2002, 03, 05, 11), five Region Championships (1999, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2013) and nine National Championship Tournament appearances (1999, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018). His 350 wins are the most in FPU men’s soccer history and his .625 winning percentage is also the best among the 7 coaches in the history of the program.


Ramirez was also the driving force behind FPU women's soccer. His vision and hard work resulted in the formation of the Sunbirds women's soccer club in 1998. He guided the team through three club seasons and its first five intercollegiate seasons. He yielded his head coaching responsibilities to long-time assistant Erik Farfan prior to the start of the 2006 season.


Ramirez grew up in Mexicali, Mexico, and moved to Clovis, California, at the age of 11. He has been a fixture in the Fresno Pacific University soccer program since the mid-1970s. He enrolled at FPU in the fall of 1977, following an outstanding career at Clovis High School that included three MVP awards.


Ramirez is one of the most gifted athletes to don a Fresno Pacific uniform. His career records for most goals scored (54) and most points scored (134) stood for nearly twenty years. They were finally surpassed in 1999 by striker Edgardo Contreras (61, 141). Ramirez was a four-time Fresno Pacific MVP, four-time NAIA All-District Three award winner and three-time NAIA All-America honoree. As a senior in the 1980 campaign, he led the (then) Vikings to the school's first NAIA District 3 championship.


Ramirez played one season (1982) for the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League, and then returned to Fresno to complete his education. He played 20 seasons in the San Joaquin Soccer League, the last seven with SC San Marcos. He helped San Marcos to the state semifinals in 1996 before retiring in 1997.


In his first season as head coach, Ramirez guided the Sunbird men to an impressive 15-2-1 record and was honored by his peers as the NAIA District 3 and All-Far West Coach of the Year. He has gone on to receive numerous coaching honors, including five GSAC Coach of the Year awards (1991, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2011), NCCAA Region Coach of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013, and most recently the PacWest Coach of the Year distinction in 2013.


Ramirez has also been active in local youth soccer. He was the guiding force behind the Roosevelt Revolution Soccer Club. The program, initiated in 1995, serves Southeast Fresno neighborhoods surrounding the university. In 2011, Ramirez became Director of Coaching for Central California Soccer Alliance, and he now presently serves in the same role for Valley United Soccer Club. He was also instrumental in the creation of the professional team the Fresno Fuego and served as the team’s head coach from 2003-2007.


Ramirez holds a USSF National "A" license, a USSF National "Youth" license, and a Brazilian Institute of Soccer "B" license, Sao Paulo, Brazil.


He completed his bachelor and Master of Arts degrees at FPU. Prior to joining the faculty in bilingual teacher training and physical education, Ramirez taught for 12 years at Aynesworth Elementary School in Fresno.


Ramirez and wife Laura Beth live near campus. Their three children--Orlando, Julie and Gabriel--were FPU student-athletes in the soccer programs. Orlando and wife Casie have two children, Jude and Owen. The Ramirez’s attend The Well Community Church.