The American

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Coaches Association (AVCA) is an organization of over 6,000 members, incorporated as a private non-profit educational corporation in 1981, as the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association. It is currently headquartered in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. The original members of the AVCA were intercollegiate coaches who banded together to form this particular coaching body. In 1986, during the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

convention, the membership recognized the growing and developing high school and

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

communities. The name of the association was then changed to reflect these growing constituencies. The original Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association was renamed the American Volleyball Coaches Association with the intent of responding to and serving all volleyball coaches. The organization produces a number of publications including ''Coaching Volleyball Magazine'', "Coaching Volleyball 2.0," "Phenom," AVCA at the Net, Volleyball Ace PowerTips and VolleyBiz. The organization also produces a weekly national poll for collegiate volleyball similar to how the Associated Press makes a poll for NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.

History

Although incorporated as a non-profit in 1981, the AVCA began to grow and diversify, and a full-time executive director wasn't hired until July 1983. An associate director was hired in April 1986 and an administrative assistant in September 1988. The Association moved from

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

, to

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, in August 1992. The staff has increased to the following positions: executive director, assistant executive director, director of operations, assistant director of events and public relations, manager of awards and membership, manager of communications, sales manager, editor and awards and membership specialist. In 1986, the board was increased to 13 members, due to new membership increases averaging out at about 150 per year. In 1988, a boom of 106% new memberships occurred. Since 1986, high school membership has more than tripled. The AVCA has members in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as, numerous international members. At the collegiate level, all major

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

conferences are represented and membership among the club coaches has risen dramatically. In July 2006 the association moved its headquarters to

and entered into an association management partnership with Associations International (formally Host Communications then IMG College). The current president of the AVCA is Anne Kordes (head coach -

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

). The Executive Director is Kathleen J. DeBoer and the Assistant Executive Director is Jason Jones.

AVCA events

Beach volleyball championship

The beach volleyball championship was introduced to the women's collegiate scene by CBS College Sports with the

Collegiate Nationals The Collegiate Nationals was a multisport event for college students across the United States. The events aired annually on CBS College Sports Network from 2006 through 2012. In 2009 the name was changed to "The Alt Games." The Nationals include ...

, an event founded by the network in the spring of 2006 to broadcast the national championships of several "action sports." The event was sponsored by the CBS College Sports Network, American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP). In 2006, the AVP sanctioned a combine that selected 8 players from 8 colleges and paired them into teams (title was won by Bibiana Candelas ( USC)/Paula Gentil (

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

)). In 2007

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

(Jordan Larson/Sarah Pavan) won an invitational competition of 8 colleges, which featured only two players per school, as opposed to entire teams. 2008 saw

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

win an invitational, sponsored by AVCA and AVP, involving 6 schools with four doubles squads each. In 2009, USC prevailed over an invited field of 8 colleges with four doubles squads each. In 2010, the competition reverted to one doubles squad per school, with 12 colleges invited; it was won by Loyola Marymount (Emily Day/Heather Hughes). The two-player team format continued in 2011, except that players were paired with different partners from other schools for every match, until the semi-final winners were determined. That year there was also a men's competition in the same format. In 2010 the

categorized women's

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

as an "emerging sport." Beginning in the spring of 2012 the AVCA began sponsoring a national championship tournament for women's collegiate beach volleyball. The AVCA has separate brackets for teams and for individual pairs. The champions of the team tournaments are: * 2012 –

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...

* 2013 – Long Beach State * 2014 – Pepperdine * 2015 – USC The NCAA granted full sponsorship to beach volleyball in all three NCAA divisions, with the first NCAA championship being held in May, 2016.

AVCA Showcase tournament

From 1995 to 2012, the AVCA put on an annual tournament held in the beginning of each season, called the AVCA Showcase. Through 2011, four teams, usually ranked in the top 15, competed for the AVCA Showcase title. As of 2007, the showcase champion had gone on to the NCAA Final Four 10 times out of 13. The only time the winner failed to advance to the Final Four was Colorado State in 2000,

in 2006 and

in 2007. However, only twice has the showcase champion won the NCAA Championship: Long Beach State in 1998 and

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

in 2003. In 2012, the Showcase featured four collegiate teams competing in one match each against the Chinese Volleyball League champion, Jiangsu. Past sponsors include NACWAA, Runza Restaurants, Rockvale Outlets and

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the la ...

. Both Big West volleyball and Big Ten Conference volleyball have been prominently featured in this tournament throughout the years.

AVCA Awards

Given out annually for Division I, II, and III women and Division I/II (combined) and III for men, the following is a list of past awards for both men and women.

National Coach of the Year – Women's teams

Key

List of winners

Winners by school

Penn State leads all schools with 5 winners, while Nebraska is second with four winners. Stanford, UCLA, and Florida have 3 winners each. Hawai'i, Kentucky, BYU, and Northern Iowa follow with 2 winners each, while the remaining schools have had 1 winner.

National Assistant Coach of the Year – Women's teams

The AVC began awarding the Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2009. * 2022: Dan Meske, Louisville * 2021: Brittany Dildine, Wisconsin * 2020: Leslie Gabriel, Washington * 2019: Angie Oxley Behrens, Creighton * 2018: Burdette Greeny, Washington State * 2017: Lindsey Gray-Walton, Kentucky * 2016: Dani Busboom Kelly, Nebraska * 2015: Laura "Bird" Kuhn, Kansas * 2014: Eva Rackham, North Carolina * 2013: Salima Rockwell, Texas * 2012: Denise Corlett, Stanford * 2011: Holly Watts, Florida State * 2010: Denise Corlett, Stanford * 2009: Kelly Files, Oklahoma

National Player of the Year – Women's

Since 1985, the AVCA has recognized the Division I national player(s) of the year.

Key

List of winners

Winners by school

Stanford leads all universities with 10 total selections (three co selections), followed by Long Beach State with 6 selections (one co), Nebraska, Penn State, and Hawai'i each have 4 selections. Ohio State (one co) and Southern California (USC) each have 2, while the remaining schools have had 1 winner.

National Freshman of the Year – Women's

Since 2001, the AVCA has recognized the Division I freshman player(s) of the year.

Key

List of winners

Winners by school

Penn State leads all universities with 4 selections, followed by Stanford, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Texas who each have 2 selections. The remaining schools have had 1 winner.

National Coach of the Year – Men's teams

For Division I/II men. Stanford (1991–92) and Penn State (2007–08) are the only schools in which both the men and women teams' coaches won the award in the same academic year. * 2021: Rick McLaughlin,

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

* 2020: No award given due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

* 2019:

Charlie Wade Charlie Wade (born October 8, 1963) is the head coach of the University of Hawaii men's volleyball program. Coaching career Wade spent 11 years at the University of Hawai'i with the Rainbow Wahine volleyball staff, nine as an associate coach to ...

, Hawai'i * 2018: Alan Knipe, Long Beach State * 2017: Alan Knipe, Long Beach State * 2016: Pete Hanson,

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

* 2015: Dan Friend,

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

* 2014: Shane Davis, Loyola–Chicago * 2013: Chris McGown,

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

* 2012: Bill Ferguson, USC * 2011: Pete Hanson/ David Kniffen Ohio State/

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...

* 2010: John Kosty,

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

* 2009: Bill Ferguson, USC * 2008: Mark Pavlik,

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

* 2007: Arnie Ball, IPFW * 2006:

John Speraw John Speraw (born October 18, 1971) is an American volleyball coach. He is the head coach of the men's volleyball team at United States national team and UCLA. He was the former coach of UC Irvine volleyball program where he led the team to thre ...

, UC Irvine * 2005:

Marv Dunphy Marvin Alex Dunphy (born 1948) is an American former volleyball player and head coach. He is most known for his time at Pepperdine University. During his tenure, Pepperdine won four NCAA Division I Championships. His career record is 612–277 ( ...

* 2004:

Alan Knipe Alan Knipe (born January 1, 1969) is the head coach of the Long Beach State 49ers men's volleyball team and head coach of the 2012 Olympic Team United States men's national volleyball team. He played and coached at Long Beach State. As a player, ...

, Long Beach State * 2003:

Dave Deuser Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

, Lewis * 2002: Mike Wilton,

Hawai'i Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

* 2001: Carl McGown, BYU * 2000: Pete Hanson, Ohio State * 1999: Carl McGown, BYU * 1998:

Al Scates Allen Edward Scates (born June 9, 1939) is a former American volleyball player and volleyball coach, who was head coach of the UCLA Bruins for 48 years. Scates is the winningest volleyball coach in the history of the NCAA, and the 19 NCAA titles ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

* 1997: Ruben Nieves, Stanford * 1996:

, UCLA * 1995: Don Shondell, Ball State * 1994:

Tom Peterson Thomas Howard Peterson (February 23, 1930 – July 25, 2016) was an American Retailing, retailer, Selling, pitchman, and television personality from Portland, Oregon. Peterson opened his first store in 1964, which grew to a regional consume ...

, Penn State * 1993:

, UCLA * 1992: Ruben Nieves, Stanford * 1991:

Ray Ratelle Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

, Long Beach State

National Player of the Year – Men's

Long Beach State, Hawai'i, Penn State, Stanford, BYU, UCLA and Ohio State are the only universities in which a male and female volleyball player was named the AVCA NPOY. Pepperdine and Long Beach State lead with seven selections, followed by Hawai'i with four and UCLA with three. * 2022: Alex Nikolov (Long Beach State) * 2021: Rado Parapunov (Hawai'i) * 2020: Gabi Garcia Fernandez (BYU) * 2019: T.J. DeFalco (Long Beach State) * 2018:

Joshua Tuaniga Joshua Tuaniga (born March 18, 1997) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a setter for AZS Olsztyn (volleyball), Indykpol AZS Olsztyn and the United States men's national volleyball team, U.S. national team. Honors Colleg ...

(Long Beach State) * 2017: T.J. DeFalco (Long Beach State) * 2016: Nicolas Szerszeń (Ohio State) * 2015: Thomas Jaeschke (Loyola-Chicago) * 2014:

Taylor Sander Taylor Lee Sander (born March 17, 1992) is an American professional beach volleyball player and former indoor volleyball player. As a member of the US national team, he won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 World Champion ...

(BYU) * 2013:

Taylor Crabb Taylor Crabb (born January 26, 1992) is an American beach volleyball player who plays as a left-side defender with his partner Taylor Sander. He has won eight tournaments on the AVP Pro Tour, as well as one gold medal on the FIVB World Tour. ...

(Long Beach State) * 2012: Tony Ciarelli (USC) * 2011:

Murphy Troy Murphy Edward Troy (born May 31, 1989) is a former American volleyball player, a member of the United States men's national volleyball team, NORCECA Champion 2013, gold medalist of Pan-American Cup 2012 and World League 2014. Personal life ...

(USC) * 2010:

Kawika Shoji Kawika Tennefos Shoji (born November 11, 1987) is an American former professional volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the ...

(Stanford) * 2009: Paul Carroll (Pepperdine) * 2008: Matt Anderson (Penn State); Paul Lotman (Long Beach State) * 2007: Jonathan Winder (Pepperdine) * 2006: Jayson Jablonsky (

) * 2005: Sean Rooney (Pepperdine) * 2004: Carlos Moreno (

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

) * 2003: Costas Theocharidis (Hawai’i) * 2002: Brad Keenan (Pepperdine) * 2001: Costas Theocharidis ( Hawai’i) * 2000: Donald Suxho (USC) * 1999: George Roumain (Pepperdine) * 1998: George Roumain (

) * 1997:

Ivan Contreras Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

(

) * 1996: Yuval Katz (Hawai’i),

Stein Metzger Stein Metzger (born November 17, 1972, in Honolulu, Hawaii) is a male beach volleyball player from the United States. He played college men's indoor volleyball at UCLA where he won 3 NCAA National championships under legendary coach Al Scates. ...

(UCLA) * 1995:

Jeff Nygaard Jeff Wayne Nygaard (born August 3, 1972, in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American volleyball and beach volleyball player who participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics with partner Dain Blanton in Athens, Greece. In 1996 and 2000 he was a member of th ...

(UCLA) * 1994:

(

) * 1993: Canyon Ceman (

) * 1992: Brent Hilliard ( Long Beach State) * 1991: Bryan Ivie (USC)

West Region Coach of the Year – Women

* 1993: David Rubio (coach) (

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

)

National High School Coach of the Year

* 2017
Alexis Glover and Zack Young
* 2016 - Jeni Case (Ursuline Academy, Cincinnati, OH) and Jan Barker, Amarillo High School, Amarillo, TX) * 2015 - Nancy Dorsey (St. James Academy, Lenexa, KS) and Jean Kesterson (Cathedral High School, Indianapolis, IN) * 2014 - Al Bennett (Westlake High School, Austin, TX) and Angie Spangenberg (Harlan Community High School, Harlan, IA) * 2013 - Kim Lauwers (A.J. Dimond High School, Anchorage, AK) and Jody DeGroot (Bellarmine Preparatory School, Tacoma, WA) * 2012 - Suzie Pignetti (Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, NC) and Ron Kordes (Assumption High School, Louisville, KY) * 2011 - Jeff Carroll (Billings Senior High School, Billings, MT) and Susan Brewer (Bellville High School, Bellville, TX) * 2010 - Bill Morrin (Grantsburg High School, Grantsburg, WI) and Amy Steininger (Marion Local High School, Maria Stein, OH) * 2009 - Bret Almazan-Cezar (Archbishop Mitty High School, Santa Clara, CA) and Anita Boeck (Arlington High School, Arlington, SD) * 2008 - Todd Garvey (Mercy Academy, Louisville, KY) and Tom Turco (Barnstable High School, Hyannis, MA)

Hall of Fame

* Ruth N. Nelson * Denise Corlett * John Dunning * Don Shaw * Steve Aird *

Andy Banachowski John Andrew Banachowski (born August 1945) is an American volleyball coach. He was the head coach of the women's volleyball team at UCLA (1965–2010). He had more wins than any other Division I coach, with 1,106 total victories and an overall rec ...

Doug Beal Doug Beal (born March 4, 1947, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American volleyball player and coach, a former USA Volleyball CEO, and a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Education * Master's degree in Education from Bowling G ...

* Teri Clemens *

Debbie Green-Vargas Debbie Green-Vargas (born June 25, 1958) is a former American volleyball player and coach. She is regarded as the greatest American women's volleyball setter of all time. Green-Vargas was a member of the U.S. National Team and won the silver med ...

Mick Haley Mick Haley (born August 18, 1943) is an American volleyball coach. He previously served for 17 seasons as the head coach of the University of Southern California women's volleyball team. He has also coached the U.S. Women's National Team at the ...

* Mike Hebert *

Karch Kiraly Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly () (born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player, coach and broadcast announcer. In the 1980s he was a central part of the United States men's national volleyball team, U.S National Team that won gold ...

Lisa Love (coach) Lisa Love is the former athletic director of Arizona State University. At the time Love was one of only three female athletic directors in a Division I FBS Bowl Equity Conference of the NCAA. Love began her administrative career at USC. Prior ...

* Mary Jo Peppler * Russ Rose *

* Don Shondell * Steve Shondell * Tom Tait (volleyball), Tom Tait * Susan Woodstra

References

External links

AVCA
website {{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in Lexington, Kentucky Coaching associations based in the United States, Volley Volleyball organizations American volleyball coaches, Non-profit corporations Sports organizations established in 1981 1981 establishments in Kentucky