Michigan State University Athletics
Cathy George Named Michigan State Volleyball Coach
12/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 9, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Cathy George, former head coach at Western Michigan, was named Michigan State volleyball's fifth-ever head coach on Thursday, MSU Athletics Director Ron Mason announced. She replaces 12-year former head coach Chuck Erbe who retired from MSU on Dec. 2, 2004. George has spent 11 years at the helm of the Western Michigan program, where she compiled a 187-131 record.
George's 367-216 record in 18 years as a collegiate head coach places her among the 50 winningest coaches in NCAA Division I volleyball history, and her career winning percentage of .630 is ranked among the top 65 coaches all-time. She was named the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year at North Dakota State in 1988, her second season as a collegiate head coach. While at Texas-Arlington, she became the first woman to coach in the NCAA Division I Final Four (1989). George has earned conference coach of the year honors in every league in which she has coached.
"We're pleased to have a coach of Cathy's caliber join our staff," said Mason. "She has had a lot of success throughout her coaching career and will bring a high standard of excellence to our volleyball program. We anticipate that she will lead an extremely competitive MSU volleyball program to the next level of success."
"This is such an exciting challenge," said George. "I'm looking forward to being at Michigan State. This program has proven it has the potential to be at the top of the Big Ten and to become a national powerhouse. Chuck Erbe created a great tradition of winning and a great fan base. I'm honored to be the person who was chosen to carry that tradition forward."
Since taking over the WMU program prior to the 1994 season, she led the Broncos to a Mid-American Conference championship, the NCAA Tournament and six postseason berths. George reached eight consecutive MAC conference tournaments, dating to 1997, and her Bronco squad made back-to-back MAC tournament title match appearances in 1999-2000.
Her players earned all-conference and national honors while enjoying academic success. George reached the 300-win mark in 2000, and was named the MAC Coach of the Year that same season. She has international experience gained as the assistant coach for the 1999 U.S. team in the World University Games, held in Mallorca, Spain.
Sixteen WMU players earned academic all-conference honors in her time at Western Michigan, while four players were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team since 1994. In 10 years, her teams consistently posted grade-point averages better than 3.00 and had a 100 percent graduation rate. Additionally, George's teams have regularly participated in community service projects with area schools and clubs, as well as working with youth clinics and summer camps.
On the court, George recruited a high-caliber student-athlete, as three WMU players have trained with various U.S. national squads. In 1999, two players were on the 1999 Pan Am Games Training Team, while another Bronco was selected to the 2001 National A-2 team. Western Michigan's success under George led to increased attendance, as the Broncos led the MAC in total attendance in eight of her 11 seasons. She also worked to reinstate the Bronco Spikers' Club, which takes part in activities involving the team throughout the year, including pre-match chalk talk, tailgates and post-match wrap-ups.
Prior to her arrival at Western Michigan, George was the head coach at Texas-Arlington from 1989-1993. She led UTA to the 1989 and 1990 NCAA Tournaments, with a school-record third-place national finish in 1989. While at Texas-Arlington, she earned Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors three times as she posted a record of 93-74 in her five seasons. George's teams won Southland Conference titles in 1989, 1990 and 1992, were 37-4 in conference play (.902), and finished with a 10-2 record in postseason competition.
She got her start as a collegiate coach at North Dakota State in 1987-88, leading the Bison to an 87-11 (.888) record in her first two seasons. In 1987, NDSU posted a 44-8 mark en route to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships in her first season as a head coach. She was named North Central Conference and Regional Coach of the Year in both 1987 and 1988 and earned NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year honors in 1988. In 1988, George led the Bison to a 43-3 mark and a third-place national finish before moving to Texas-Arlington.
A 1985 graduate of Illinois State, George helped the Redbirds win three consecutive Missouri Valley titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. A team captain, she was a three-time All-MVC selection and earned all-region honors. She still ranks third on the all-time kills list at Illinois State (1,595), and is listed in the record book for kills in a match, attack attempts, service aces and holds two of the program's top 10 season kill totals.
George, who earned her master's degree in education from Central Michigan in 1987, is married to Jerry George, the director of athletic development at Western Michigan. The couple resides in Portage, Mich., and has two sons, T.J., 12, and Conner, 7.
George's Record Year-by-Year Overall ConferenceYear School Record Pct. Record Pct.1987 North Dakota State 44-8 .846 N/A1988 North Dakota State 43-3 .935 N/A1989 Texas-Arlington 31-4 .886 7-0 (SC) 1.0001990 Texas-Arlington 18-19 .487 7-0 (SC) 1.0001991 Texas-Arlington 13-18 .419 8-1 (SC) .4191992 Texas-Arlington 20-14 .588 9-0 (SC) .5881993 Texas-Arlington 11-19 .367 6-3 (SC) .6671994 Western Michigan 10-16 .385 6-11 (MAC) .3531995 Western Michigan 8-20 .286 5-12 (MAC) .2941996 Western Michigan 20-8 .714 10-7 (MAC) .5881997 Western Michigan 13-15 .464 9-7 (MAC) .5631998 Western Michigan 19-13 .594 11-7 (MAC) .6111999 Western Michigan 25-7 .781 15-3 (MAC) .8332000 Western Michigan 26-5 .839 17-1 (MAC) .9442001 Western Michigan 15-11 .577 10-8 (MAC) .5562002 Western Michigan 15-11 .577 10-8 (MAC) .5562003 Western Michigan 17-14 .548 8-8 (MAC) .5002004 Western Michigan 19-11 .633 11-5 (MAC) .688Total 18 years 367-216 .630
