Cathy George

Last updated
Cathy George
Biographical details
Alma mater Illinois State
Playing career
1981-1985 Illinois State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1987-1988 North Dakota State
1989-1993 UT-Arlington
1994-2004 Western Michigan
2005-2021 Michigan State
2024-present Grand Rapids Rise
Head coaching record
Overall667-457 (.593) (collegiate)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
MAC Coach of the Year (2000)

3x Southland Coach of the Year (1989, 1990, 1992)
NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year (1988)

2x

Contents

North Central Coach of the Year (1987, 1988)

Cathy George is a college women's volleyball coach. She began her coaching career at North Dakota State, coaching there for two years. She moved on to coach Texas-Arlington and made the NCAA tournament twice with the team. She coached Western Michigan next, appearing in the NCAA tournament in 2000 and receiving MAC Coach of the Year. George was most recently the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans and retired at the end of the 2021 season.

Early life

Cathy George graduated from Illinois State in 1985. She lettered in volleyball all four years at the university. While on the team, they won three consecutive conference titles and had three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. George was a team captain. She also earned All-MVC three times. [1]

George earned her Master's degree in Education from Central Michigan in 1987. She is married and has two sons. [1] [2]

Coaching career

North Dakota State

George spent two years coaching at North Dakota State, finishing with an overall record of 87-11. She was the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year and the North Central Conference Coach of the Year twice. [1]

Texas-Arlington

Starting in 1989, George coached the Texas-Arlington volleyball team. George coached there for five seasons, finishing with a record of 93-74. She was a three-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year. [1]

The 1989 team finished third in the NCAA tournament, a school record, and she became the first female to coach in the Final Four. [1]

Western Michigan

George began coaching Western Michigan in 1994. She coached for eleven seasons, culminating in a 185-139 overall record. [1] [2]

She was the MAC coach of the year in 2000; the team made the NCAA tournament that year. [1] [2]

Michigan State

George started coaching the Michigan State volleyball team in 2005. She said that it was always her dream to coach in the Big Ten. She was announced as the head coach a week after Chuck Erbe retired. [2] The team was ranked ninth in the Big Ten preseason polls. [3] She retired at the end of the 2021 season, being the winningest coach in program history, with a record of 302-233. She also led the Spartans to 10 NCAA Appearances. [4]

Grand Rapids Rise

In March 2023, George was named the inaugural head coach of the Pro Volleyball Federation's team in western Michigan which would be named the Grand Rapids Rise in April 2023. [5]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
North Dakota State Bison ()(1987–1988)
1987North Dakota State 44-8-Division II NCAA Fifth Place
1988North Dakota State 43-3-Division II NCAA Third Place
North Dakota State:87-11 (.888)
UT Arlington Mavericks (Southland Conference)(1989–1993)
1989UT Arlington 31-47-01st NCAA National semifinals
1990UT Arlington 18-197-01st NCAA first round
1991UT Arlington 13-188-12nd
1992UT Arlington 20-149-01st
1993UT Arlington 11-196-3T-4th
UT Arlington:93-74 (.557)37-4 (.902)
Western Michigan Broncos (Mid-American Conference)(1994–2004)
1994Western Michigan 10-166-117th
1995Western Michigan 8-205-128th
1996Western Michigan 20-810-73rd
1997Western Michigan 13-159-73rd
1998Western Michigan 19-1311-73rd
1999Western Michigan 25-715-32nd
2000Western Michigan 25-617-11st NCAA first round
2001Western Michigan 15-1110-84th
2002Western Michigan 14-188-103rd
2003Western Michigan 17-148-83rd
2004Western Michigan 19-1111-52nd
Western Michigan:185-139 (.571)110-79 (.582)
Michigan State Spartans (Big Ten Conference)(2005–present)
2005Michigan State 12-185-159th
2006Michigan State 19-1210-106th NCAA first round
2007Michigan State 21-1410-105th NCAA regional semifinal
2008Michigan State 15-167-137th
2009Michigan State 17-165-1510th NCAA first round
2010Michigan State 15-167-139th
2011Michigan State 22-1210-106th NCAA second round
2012Michigan State 25-1011-96th NCAA regional semifinal
2013Michigan State 23-1210-107th NCAA regional semifinal
2014Michigan State 19-1411-97th NCAA second round
2015Michigan State 19-1410-107th NCAA second round
2016Michigan State 25-913-75th NCAA second round
2017Michigan State 23-914-64th NCAA Regional finals
2018Michigan State 17-165-15T-9th
2019Michigan State 15-156-149th
2020Michigan State 3-123-12T-12th
2021Michigan State 11-184-16T-11th
Michigan State:301-233 (.564)141-180 (.439)
Total:666-457 (.593)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Cathy George". Michigan State Spartans. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Mason Chooses Proven Winner". Lansing State Journal. December 10, 2004. p. 17. Retrieved November 8, 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Volleyball team out to be a surprise". Lansing State Journal. August 27, 2005. p. 13. Retrieved November 8, 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "MSU Volleyball Coach Cathy George announces retirement". The State News. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  5. "Cathy George joins West Michigan Pro Volleyball" . Retrieved 2023-12-18.