Mary Wise Head Coach 19th year at Florida Purdue ‘81

When Florida head coach Mary Wise walked off the court that Thanksgiving Eve after her Gator team clinched its NCAA record 18th consecutive Southeastern Conference title, she completed what many were calling her finest coaching job.

That’s high praise for the first coach in NCAA history to win 100 consecutive games, the first to win 130 consecutive regular-season conference matches and the only coach ever to win 90 percent of her matches in her first 15 seasons at one school.

Those accomplishments led USA Volleyball to bestow on Wise the title of “All-Time Great Coach” in 2006.

The list of accomplishments is long, and cements the fact that if there is one constant to Wise's 18-year tenure at Florida, it is unparalleled success. There hasn’t been a single coach in the history of NCAA Division I men and women’s basketball, football and baseball with at least 10 seasons of coaching who can claim a better winning percentage than Wise has at Florida (.905).

Since arriving at UF in 1991, Wise has propelled a once lackluster program into the epitome of excellence, but it was in 2008 that her proficiency as a true teacher of the game shined. Her squad captured a unlikely 18th consecutive league championship, which broke an NCAA Division I record for the most consecutive conference titles in the sport of volleyball. Wise guided a young squad that featured five freshmen regularly playing in the rotation to the outright league championship and an NCAA Regional Semifinal appearance.

Under her direction, freshman Kelly Murphy became the first player in school history to be named the AVCA National Freshman of the Year and senior Kelsey Bowers was named the SEC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Florida has so dominated the SEC in her tenure that Wise is one of only two coaches in conference history in any sport, men's or women's, to win as many as 18, consecutive conference titles.

Florida’s success in the Wise Era, however, hasn’t been limited to the conference level. The Gators went more than 10 seasons from 1994-04 without losing a regular-season SEC match – a feat unmatched by any school in NCAA women’s volleyball history. In 2003, the Gators won 105 straight games during the course of the season, smashing the previous NCAA record by 36 games. UF has also amassed 578 victories since 1991 – easily more than any other school in the country.

Florida is one of only two schools in the nation to win more than 90 percent of its matches, and one of just three to record 500 wins, since 1991, while the Orange and Blue has averaged a final AVCA ranking of 7.41 since Wise took over – the nation’s  fifth-best mark. In 2008, the Gators’ 27 victories extended the nation’s longest streak of 25-win seasons to 18 in a row, and UF, which finished 10th in the final  AVCA poll of last season, is one of just two schools in the nation to complete the season as a top-15 team in each of the last 18 campaigns.

A pioneer with tremendous vision, passion and enthusiasm for the sport of volleyball, Wise is the only female coach to appear in more than one national semifinal, and she reached the 500-win plateau faster than any other Division I female coach. An 11 time winner of the SEC Coach of the Year award (1991-93, 1995-96, 1998-02, 2007), Wise has also been named the national coach of the year twice (1992, 1996) and is one of three coaches in the country to win the honor more than once since 1991.

Her penchant for prosperity on the court has also transcended into the regional community. Florida ranked among the top-10 schools in the nation in attendance for the 17th year in a row in 2007, as countless Gator fans moved through the turnstiles at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to provide Florida with one of the most electric, intimidating and inspiring volleyball venues in the country. In the last eight years, more than a quarter of a million fans have moved through the turnstiles of the "O' Dome" to cheer on Gator volleyball.

The NCAA recognized the enthusiasm of Gator fans by awarding Florida NCAA Regional hosting duties in 2006 and 2007, as UF became the first school to host back-to-back regionals and the first to host three total regionals since the pre determined format was adopted in 2003. Florida is again scheduled to host the event in 2009.

As strong as the reputation that has built for her program is in the state of Florida, it extends far beyond the borders of the Sunshine State. On the forefront of increasing awareness and exposure for volleyball, Wise has ushered in a philosophy of innovation when it comes to rules changes and youth volleyball opportunities, and she is routinely regarded as one of the finest resources for coaching in collegiate volleyball.

In April of 2008, Wise helped blaze another trail for the women’s volleyball community, as she played an integral role in the organization of inaugural SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships, which marked the first beach volleyball tournament held by an NCAA Division I conference. Later that month, the Birmingham News named her one of the 10 most influential women’s sports coaches or administrators in conference history.

Due to the advocacy of Wise and others in the coaching community, the sport of “sand volleyball” was added to the NCAA’s list of emerging sports for women in the spring of 2009.

Wise served as the president of the American Volleyball Coaches Association during the 2008 year and will hold the position of past president until Dec. 31, 2009.

Wise’s expertise and intuition have led to numerous appointments on international coaching staffs. In May of 2006, she guided the USA Volleyball A2 Team at the U.S. Open Championships, as the volleyball community became one of the first groups to compete in a large-scale event in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She also directed the U.S. National “B” Team at the 1995 World University Games.

Along the way, multiple players under Wise’s tutelage have gone on to earn invitations to national teams and compile individual honors. In the summer of 2005, four Gators trained with the USA Women's Volleyball National Team - more than any other school in the country that year.

A Florida player has earned the title of SEC Player of the Year in each of the last 13 seasons, including Angie McGinnis in 2006 and 2007, when she became the first setter in league history to claim the honor and one of just five players in league history to win the award on multiple occasions. Since Wise’s arrival at UF, 22 different players have earned a sum of 52 All-America honors, including a record six combined honors by a trio of players in 2008.

A telling indication of the balanced coaching expertise of Wise and her staff is the distribution of All-America honors players have earned at UF. Gator middle blockers have combined to earn 17 All-America honors, outside hitters account for 15, setters have earned nine, opposite hitters can claim eight and Elyse Cusack has picked up the first three in school history by a libero/defensive specialist. Florida’s aforementioned dominance of the SEC and of teams in the region has been remarkable under Wise’s direction.

Since 1991, 32 players have earned 62 All-District or All- South Region honors. Dating back to Wise’s first season, 50 UF players have been named All-SEC a staggering 87 times – an average of nearly five per year. Florida upped the ante even more in 2003, 2006 and 2007, as a whopping six players were named All-SEC in each of those campaigns.

While the accomplishments of many teams end on the court, that’s simply where Florida’s begin. With her emphasis on academics in addition to athletics, members of the Gator volleyball team under Wise have combined to earn 100 Academic All-SEC honors since 1991. In 2006, Florida sported a school-record 3.4 fall semester grade point average and 11 players on the team were named to either the SEC Academic Honor Roll or the Freshman Academic Honor Roll. Additionally, five UF players have combined to receive eight Academic All-America honors in Wise’s career at Florida.

The Gators have also shown a commitment to playing an active role in community leadership and involvement. Each year members of the Gator volleyball team visit children at nearby Shands Hospital during the Thanksgiving holiday, while players also participate in the Goodwill Gators program. In 2003, Wise helped raise $7,500 for the Children’s Miracle Network after more than 4,000 Gator fans packed the O’Connell Center for a match against South Carolina. She also organizes and operates the annual Mary Wise Scramble, a golf tournament that benefits PACE Alachua, which provides guidance to young girls who are experiencing conflict in school or at home.

Since winning the SEC Championship in her first season in Gainesville, Wise’s effect on volleyball in the state has been nothing short of amazing. UF’s annual summer camps typically draw nearly 1,700 eager athletes from all levels who travel to the UF campus in order to learn from one of the finest coaches in the country.

Fittingly, several of Wise’s former players and assistants have successfully ventured into coaching, including Mary Buczek (formerly of Georgia), Keylor Chan (Northwestern), Michelle Chatman (Georgetown), Meg Fitzgerald (formerly of Central Florida), Arlisa Hagan (Georgetown), Claire Lessinger (South Florida), Prentice Lewis (TCU), Nicole McCray (Panola College), Jen Sanchez (Incarnate Word) and Nikki Shade (South Florida), to name just a few. Her influence stretched even farther after Wise was the lead editor for the book “Volleyball Drills for Champions.” She also produced a series of videos titled “Foundations for Successful Volleyball.”

Prior to guiding the Gators, Wise honed her talents at Kentucky as an assistant for five years from 1986-90. During her progression from a graduate assistant to associate head coach, the Wildcats won a pair of SEC titles and advanced to the NCAA Championship three times. Before moving on to Lexington, Ky., Wise had previously served as the head coach at Iowa State from 1981-84. At the time of her hire, she became, at 21 years of age, the youngest Division I head coach in history before eventually guiding the Cyclones to an 81-63 record, which also included a second-place finish in the Big Eight Conference in 1984.

Wise graduated from Purdue in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education after a standout career as a setter for the Boilermakers. A dean’s list student, Wise was a member of Purdue’s 1979 and 1980 Big Ten championship teams. A native of Evanston, Ill., Wise resides in Gainesville with her husband, Mark, and their two sons, Matt (20) and Mitchell (15).

Wiser Than Ever Before ...
Since Mary Wise took over the Gator volleyball program in 1991, she has led a turnaround that is as apparent as night and day. Listed below are Florida’s accomplishments before Wise took over the program compared to what the program has achieved under her direction:

Florida Team Achievements Under Wise

• Seven NCAA National Semifinal appearances (1992-93, 1996-98, 2002-03)
• 18 consecutive berths to the NCAA Championship
• 18 straight SEC championships
• 12 SEC Tournament titles
• Received program's first national ranking in 1991, highest national ranking in 1996 (No. 1) and highest preseason ranking in 2003 (No. 3)
• More wins than any other program in the nation since 1991

Individual Gator Honors Under Wise

• 22 athletes with 52 All-America honors
• Six athletes with nine Academic All-America honors
• 33 athletes with 64 AVCA/NCAA All-District/Region honors
• 22 athletes with 37 NCAA Regional All-Tournament honors
• 48 athletes with 93 All-Southeastern Conference honors
• Nine players earning 15 SEC Player of the Year awards
• 41 SEC All-Tournament honors
• 11 SEC Tournament MVP awards
• 40 SEC Academic Honor Roll recipients earning 100 awards

Florida In the SEC Under Wise

• 18 regular-season titles
• 12 SEC Tournament titles
• 11 undefeated SEC seasons
• Won 97 percent of conference matches
• Set an NCAA Division I record with 18 consecutive SEC titles
• Only coach in SEC history with at least 200 league victories