The BYU Cougars men's volleyball team is the men's college volleyball program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began male collegiate volleyball competition in 1990 and have won 3 national championships and 10 conference championships.
The program was officially sanctioned in 1990 under the leadership of Carl McGown. BYU's first NCAA title came in 1999, when they finished the season 30–1 and swept Long Beach State to win the championship. In 2001, the team captured its second title in three years by defeating UCLA in a 3-0 sweep. Following McGown’s retirement, Tom Peterson took over and led the team back to the championship in 2004, where the team defeated Long Beach State in five sets in Honolulu to claim their third national title.[2] Setter Carlos Moreno was named the AVCA National Player of the Year, the first in program history. After a few transitional years, Carl McGown’s son, Chris McGown, took the helm. He led the team back to national prominence, fueled by the arrival of superstar Taylor Sander, who became a four-time First Team All-American and the 2014 AVCA Player of the Year. Under Chris McGown, the team reached the NCAA Finals in 2013 and consistently won MPSF regular-season titles.[3]
In 2016, Shawn Olmstead, who previously led the BYU women’s team to a national final, moved to the men’s side. His tenure has been marked by high-level consistency and several near-misses at the national title, ending their 2016, 2017, and 2021 seasons as the NCAA runners up. The 2020 team was also ranked No. 1 in the nation before the season was abruptly cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
As of 2025, the Cougars have been ranked in the AVCA Division I WVB Coaches Poll 572 times since it was started in 1986, including 506 Top 10 rankings and 76 rankings at #1. The team has finished their season ranked 33 times, including 29 times in the Top 10, 18 times in the Top 5, and 3 times as the #1.[4]
BYU's men's volleyball team is the only program outside of California or Hawaii to win multiple NCAA titles.[3]
The Cougars regularly play home matches at the Smith Fieldhouse, which is the seventh largest venue for college volleyball in the United States.[5] The team's largest home game attendance on record was 6,119 in 2001 against No. 1 UCLA.[6] On a few occasions, home matches have been played at BYU's Marriott Center. On Feb. 19, 1999, the Cougars defeated Hawai’i, 3-1, in front of 14,156 fans in the Marriott Center to set the NCAA single-match attendance record.[7]
After college, many players have gone on to play on national and professional club teams, including 14 Olympians such as gold medalists Ryan Millar and Richard Lambourne (2008), and bronze medalist Taylor Sander (2016).[3]
Results by season
Statistics overview
Season
Coach
Overall
Conference
Standing
Postseason
Carl McGown (Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association)(1990–1992)
National championPostseason invitational champion Conference regular season championConference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season championDivision regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion
References
↑"Colors". Brigham Young University Publications and Graphics. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
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