Men's DI-II National Coaches of the Year Announced.
5/8/2012
USC's Ferguson and UCLA's Rofer Named
2012 AVCA Division I-II Men's National and Assistant Coaches of the Year
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 8, 2012) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce that the University of Southern California head men's volleyball coach Bill Ferguson has been selected as the 2012 AVCA Division I-II Men's National Coach of the Year, while UCLA assistant coach Brian Rofer has been tabbed the AVCA Division I-II Men's National Assistant Coach of the Year.
In his sixth year as head coach of the Trojans, this could arguably be his best coaching performance. In what many described as a rebuilding year after losing AVCA First-Team All-Americans Riley McKibbin and Murphy Troy, Ferguson led his team to a No. 1 seed in the MPSF Tournament and a No. 2 final ranking in the AVCA Coaches Top 15 Poll. After sputtering early in the season losing three in a row on the road, USC went on to win 22 of the next 25 matches all of the way to the NCAA Championship Match. This was Ferguson's third appearance in the championship match and third NCAA Final Four appearance in four years.
Southern California ended 2012 with a 24-6 overall record, and a regular season MPSF champion. They were at or near or the top-5 of the poll throughout the season until April 2nd when they reached No. 1 for four consecutive weeks. Ferguson mentored four AVCA All-Americans, including AVCA National Player of the Year Tony Ciarelli. It's his second consecutive Player of the Year after Murphy Troy won it a year ago.
Ferguson holds a career record of 109-64 during his time with the Trojans, and has now twice been honored as the AVCA Division I-II Men's National Coach of the Year, the first time coming after the 2009 season.
Rofer recently completed his 22nd season under Al Scates as the assistant coach of UCLA. He helped the Bruins to a 22-7 record in 2012, including a 16-6 mark in the highly-competitive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while guiding the team to the No. 5 seed in the MPSF Tournament. In addition, UCLA was ranked in the top-five of the AVCA Men's Division I-II Coaches Top 15 Poll the duration of the season, reaching as high as No. 1 four different weeks.
The AVCA will formally present both coaches their award at the 2012 jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Louisville, Ky. on Thursday, December 12. The luncheon is held in conjunction with the 2012 AVCA Annual Convention.
AVCA Division I-II National Coach of the Year (prior to 2004, all Divisions competed for this honor)
2012: Bill Ferguson, Southern California
2011: Pete Hanson, Ohio State
2010: John Kosty, Stanford
2009: Bill Ferguson, Southern California
2008: Mark Pavlik, Penn State
2007: Arnie Ball, IPFW
2006: John Speraw, UC Irvine
2005: Marv Dunphy, Pepperdine
2004: Alan Knipe, Long Beach State
2003: Dave Deuser, Lewis
2002: Mike Wilton, Hawai'i
2001: Carl McGown, BYU
2000: Pete Hanson, Ohio State
1999: Carl McGown, BYU
1998: Al Scates, UCLA
1997: Ruben Nieves, Stanford
1996: Al Scates, UCLA
1995: Don Shondell, Ball State
1994: Tom Peterson, Penn State
1993: Al Scates, UCLA
1992: Ruben Nieves, Stanford
1991: Ray Ratelle, Long Beach State
