beginning in 1978, virginia commonwealth university fielded a ncaa division i men's varsity soccer program that competed independently, joining the sun belt conference in 1979. ben satterfield was the team's initial head coach and was at the helm until the end of the 1982 season. ben satterfield's teams got progressively better, and in 1981, was ranked #1 in the mid-atlantic region, and was in the ncaa division i top 25 in the nation. vcu had a bye going into the 1981 sun belt tournament with a 12-5-3 record, and lost a heart-breaker to university of south alabama 2-1, ending their season. roosevelt lundy took over in 1983, and struggled to do well in the conference.