COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), in conjunction with Tachikara USA, Inc, is proud to announce that Jim Boos of the University of Minnesota Duluth has been selected as the 2004 Tachikara/AVCA Division II National Coach of the Year.

Boos led Minnesota Duluth (25-7) to its third consecutive NCAA Tournament and its first appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals by defeating then-11th-ranked Northern Michigan 3-1. The win avenged UMD’s first loss of the season, which came at the hands of the Wildcats on August 27. Minnesota Duluth fell to Barry University, the 2004 NCAA Division II champion, in the semifinals. The UMD volleyball program advanced the farthest of any Division II program at UMD. (Minnesota Duluth has won three NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Championships.)

Boos led the Bulldogs to the league championship by posting a 10-2 record in their first season as a member of the North Central Conference. The squad pulled together a 15-match win streak, which included handing then-second-ranked UC San Diego its first loss of the season. The win catapulted the Bulldogs to seventh in the CSTV/AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll from 17th in the preseason poll. Minnesota Duluth finished the season ranked fourth, the highest final poll ranking in school history.

Boos has an overall record of 82-13 (.863 winning percentage) and is 41-5 in league play (North Central Conference and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference). Four Bulldogs were named to the AVCA NCAA Division II All-America Teams under Boos’ leadership. NCC Player of the Year Callie Zwettler and NCC Freshman of the Year Vicky Braegelmann were named to the first team. Greta Iisakka was a third team selection and Allison Boddy was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-America selection.

Boos, in his third year as a head coach, is an active member of the AVCA. He is a voting member on the CSTV/AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll and currently serves as the chair of the AVCA All-North Central Region Team and Tachikara/AVCA Region Coach of the Year Selection Committee. As the chair, he is on the AVCA NCAA Division II All-America Committee.

A 1994 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Boos received his master's degree in educational leadership in 1999. While attending school and assisting with the women’s volleyball team at UW-Oshkosh, he established the men’s club program and assisted in the development of the Wisconsin Volleyball Conference. Boos was inducted into the Wisconsin Volleyball Conference Hall of Fame in 2001.

Tachikara will formally present the Tachikara/AVCA National Coach of the Year award on Dec. 16 in Long Beach, Calif. The Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year and Victory Club Awards banquet is held in conjunction with the 2004 AVCA Annual Convention.