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One of the winningest coaches in college men’s volleyball history will no longer be on the Pepperdine sidelines.
Hall of Fame coach Marv Dunphy announced Monday that he is retiring after spending more than 30 years as the head coach of the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team.
“I’ve decided that it’s time,” Dunphy said in a statement. “It’s just time, and there’s not a lot more to it than that. I’m very grateful to Pepperdine for all that it’s given me. I can’t imagine any other institution being as supportive of a coach as Pepperdine has been to me. I’m really grateful to the leadership of this university: Andy Benton, Bob Thomas, Wayne Wright, John Watson and Steve Potts. They let me go away to get a doctorate and come back, and to coach a couple of Olympic teams and come back.”
Dunphy in 34 seasons finished with a 612-277 career record and guided the Waves to four NCAA championships — each one occurring in a different decade. In addition, Dunphy was named the 2005 National Coach of the Year after guiding Pepperdine to its most recent national title.
Along with his coaching accolades, Dunphy had players earn All-American honors 75 times during his tenure with the Waves.
“The hardest thing is leaving the players,” Dunphy said. “I want to thank our current and former players for giving me the privilege of being their coach, and for all that they brought to this program.”
The Waves under Dunphy have finished in the top 10 of the national rankings every season, expect for one time, during the last 17 year, including ending the 2017 season at No. 8. The Waves also won 12 conference championships with Dunphy on the sidelines.
Dunphy first started coaching Pepperdine in 1977 but at times took sabbaticals from the program for educational reasons or to coach the U.S. Men’s National Team.
The Hall of Famer served as the head coach for one of the best men’s volleyball teams in U.S. history.
The United States during the 1985-1988 quadrennial was No. 1 in the world rankings and won the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics. The team in that four-year span also won the 1985 World Cup, the 1986 World Championship and the 1987 Pan American Games.
The 1988 Olympics was the first of seven Olympics that Dunphy served on a coaching staff for USA Volleyball. Along with helping the U.S. Men’s National Team win a gold medal in 2008, he most recently helped the U.S. Women’s National Team win a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics.
Dunphy has been inducted into four hall of fames — the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, the AVCA Hall of Fame, the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame and the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame. In addition, he was a named a finalist for the FIVB Greatest Coach of the Century Award.
Pepperdine did not unveil Monday who will replace Dunphy as the team’s head coach for the upcoming season.
The university did announce, though, the 69-year-old Dunphy will remain on-campus during the 2017-18 school year to teach a class and to assist with special projects for the athletics department.
“Marv Dunphy is the greatest teacher and coach with whom I have ever been associated,” Pepperdine athletics director Steve Potts said in a statement “Through teaching and coaching volleyball, Marv has impacted the lives of countless student-athletes during their time at Pepperdine and even well beyond. He has been an incredible ambassador for Pepperdine University all around the world. He leaves a standard of excellence for which we should all strive as his legacy.”