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Shane Davis isn’t leaving the Loyola sidelines any time soon after leading the school to its first NCAA men’s volleyball championship.
The Loyola athletics department announced Friday afternoon that Davis signed a five-year contract extension to be the Ramblers head coach that will last through the 2019 season.
“Coach Davis believes in the goals of the athletics department and the mission of the University,” interim athletics director Susan Malisch said in a statement. “He is an exceptional leader for this program and we could not be prouder that he is a Loyola alumnus. This contract demonstrates our confidence in Shane as our head coach as well as Loyola’s continued commitment to the men’s volleyball program. It will be exciting to watch coach Davis build upon the tremendous success he has established for the program in the coming years.”
Davis last season guided Loyola to become the second Midwest school to a national title in the history of NCAA men’s volleyball. The Ramblers also closed out the season on a school-record 27-match winning streak, including beating Stanford in four games in the NCAA Tournament championship match.
Along with Loyola winning the national title and back-to-back MIVA championships, Davis was named the 2014 AVCA National Coach of the Year.
In his 11 seasons as the Ramblers head coach, Davis has a 237-86 career record. Davis before being hired as a coach was a starting setter for Loyola in the 1990s.
“I cannot express how appreciative I am to Father Garanzini and the Loyola administration,” Davis said in a statement. “His vision for the university and the athletic department is one of the big reasons behind the success of the men’s volleyball program. To be able to coach a great group of student-athletes and see them win a national championship in front of the Loyola community is something that I will never forget and I am looking forward to creating more memories here in the years to come.”
Loyola returns five starters from its national championship team — including All-American outside attacker Thomas Jaeschke and outside attacker Cody Caldwell, the 2014 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.