Concordia University-St. Paul's Brady Starkey Named 2007 Division II AVCA National Coach of the Year

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (December 4, 2007) – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce that Concordia University-St. Paul head women’s volleyball coach Brady Starkey has been selected has the 2007 Division II AVCA National Coach of the Year.

In just his fifth season as Concordia-St. Paul head coach, Starkey has led the Golden Bears program to national prominence, most recently adding the 2007 NCAA Division II national championship  - the school’s first in history - to the squad’s ever-growing list of post season hardware. Along the road to glory, the Golden Bears upended then-No. 1 Minnesota Duluth 3-1 on the Bulldogs’ home court to earn their third NCAA quarterfinal appearance in the past five years. After knocking off California (Pa.) and West Texas A&M, Starkey’s squad defeated Western Washington in four games in the final.

“This is a unique group of girls," Starkey said after winning the championship on Dec. 1 in Topeka, Kan. "This group learned that they would give up some rounds of points. But they always fought back to get their own rounds of points back in response. By this point of the season, we are to the point where we don't allow teams to keep pushing through those initial scoring bursts and we've been able to limit opposing runs.

“This means a lot to me because of these girls,” Starkey commented further. “This ends up being the ultimate because we get to be around each other for so long. To me, that’s the reward.”

Concordia-St. Paul began the season ranked No. 6 in the CSTV/AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 poll, and never fell lower, ending its season by winning 21 of its last 23 contests and racking up a final 36-4 mark, which tied the school record for most wins in a season.  Starkey’s Golden Bears reached the final round of four for only the second time in program history.

Prior to becoming head coach at Concordia-St. Paul, Starkey served as Golden Bears’ assistant coach for three seasons and also spent five seasons as an assistant at the University of St. Thomas in Minn. In five years, he has already become the school’s all-time winningest coach, compiling an overall record of 166-19, while guiding CSP to five consecutive 30-win seasons and the five best seasons in the program’s history. In addition, the Golden Bears have won nearly 90 percent of their matches with Starkey at the helm and captured five consecutive Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles, three NSIC tournament titles and three NCAA North Central Region titles.

The AVCA will formally present the Division II National Coach of the Year award to Starkey at the 2007 Jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday, December 13.  The luncheon is held in conjunction with the 2007 AVCA Annual Convention.