Soccer coach reprimanded after second OWI verdict

Jared Taylor and Luke Plansky / S

The ISU women’s soccer coach was found guilty by a jury of a second drunken driving violation.

Rebecca Hornbacher was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated on Dec. 8, 2005.

Hornbacher was found guilty by a jury on April 7. She is scheduled to be sentenced April 26 at Story County District Court in Nevada.

According to Iowa Code, anyone convicted of a second drunken driving charge must spend at least seven days in jail and face up to a $5,000 fine.

Hornbacher received an official letter of reprimand and will be on probation for the next year. A $9,000 salary increase from Iowa State will be retracted. She is also required to receive alcohol counseling and volunteer in the community, according to Daily staff reports.

Hornbacher will have to obtain a substance abuse evaluation prior to the sentencing hearing. She was unable to be reached for this story.

Steve Malchow, senior associate athletics director for communications, said the issue has already been put to rest by the administration.

“We dealt with it last winter,” Malchow said. “Because she admitted to us what had happened . it is just a completion of the legal process.”

Hornbacher was required to make formal apologies to Cyclone team members, their families and the entire ISU coaching staff.

She has also been required to receive alcohol counseling through the Iowa State Employee Assistance Program and volunteer in the community speaking to youth about making the right choices, according to a press release.

In that release, Hornbacher said she understood and accepted the disciplinary actions and took full responsibility for her mistake.

Hornbacher’s attorney, Brian Humke, was able to get results from sobriety tests thrown out from the case because they were found to be improperly administered. Humke declined to comment on the specifics of the situation.

In November 2001, Hornbacher was convicted of operating while intoxicated in Mills County. She pleaded guilty and received a one-year deferred judgment sentence for the crime.

Hornbacher took over the ISU women’s soccer team as an interim coach in 2002 and was named full-time head coach the following season. Last fall, she earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors, making her the first ISU soccer coach to receive the award.