Rambler turned Wildcat: Volleyball coach moves to Northwestern

If the coach of a women's college basketball team was asked to be the coach of a men's college basketball team of the same caliber, that would be seen as a move up on the career spectrum.

For volleyball, the opposite is true.

A coaching job in women's college volleyball is seen as more prestigious than in men's college volleyball.

And that's part of the reason Shane Davis just left the best job in men's college volleyball. Davis was the coach at Loyola, the two-time defending NCAA national champion.

As of late December, he is now the women's volleyball coach at Northwestern, a program that has earned just one NCAA tournament berth in the last 10 years back in 2010.

Davis replaces Keylor Chan, who had been the head coach at Northwestern for 16 years.

"Volleyball for girls in high school is huge. It's the No. 1 sport for girls," Davis said. "I believe it's taken over basketball. At the college level, it's also the No. 1 women's sport. And the Big Ten is the No. 1 conference for women's volleyball.

"This is definitely a move up for me. I had been thinking about making the move over to the women's game for a while. In the men's game, I was at the top. But that still wasn't quite at the level of Big Ten women's volleyball."

The Big Ten has won eight of the last 10 NCAA national women's volleyball championships, including the 2015 title in December by Nebraska.

Davis says that major Division I colleges, particularly in the Big Ten, are pouring a lot of money and resources into women's volleyball. Men's volleyball at major Division I colleges doesn't get quite the consideration since so much money goes into football and men's basketball.

"That's why men's volleyball isn't growing as much at the Division I level," Davis said. "But it is growing on the women's side. There's a ton of growth there.

"This is the right move for me. There was a little bit of fear, because it's like, 'What am I giving up?' It was a risk to leave everything I had built (at Loyola). But I wanted to be a part of Northwestern. This could be a sleeping giant."

Loyola certainly was just that, and Davis was the one who woke that giant out of its slumber.

His rise to the top is mind-boggling.

Davis, a native of Iowa, played volleyball at Loyola from 2000 to 2003. He was a setter and a three-year team captain.

The program was in its infancy then and went through some coaching changes. When the head coaching spot opened up again after Davis graduated, he was approached about filling it. At that time, the position was not full-time, and compensated only by stipend.

"I turned it down, just because I didn't know anything about coaching. I had never coached before," Davis said. "But then I heard the position was going to be offered to a former teammate of mine and I felt that wouldn't be a good fit. So I asked if they still wanted me to do it."

That year, coaching a team full of players who had just been his teammates, the 22-year-old Davis worked two other part-time jobs to make ends meet.

"It was a challenge. I had to learn everything and I had to do everything with no staff," said Davis, who graduated in May of 2003 and was taking over the program that August. "And I was coaching guys who were my best friends. But I had been a captain for three years, so there was that leadership (role) already in place."

The following season, the position at Loyola was made full-time. Davis was able to put together a staff and pour his heart into recruiting. Day by day, he turned Loyola into a powerhouse.

During his 12 years at Loyola, Davis guided the Ramblers to the 2014 and 2015 national titles and three straight national semifinals. He compiled a 265-88 record and coached 12 All-Americans as well as the 2015 national player of the year and 2015 national newcomer of the year.

"They wanted a winner at Northwestern, and hopefully, we're able to bring (the success from Loyola) to Northwestern," Davis said. "My philosophy is to just win. And the big goal right now is to get into the NCAA tournament."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

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