Ray Bechard Hometown: Grinnell, Kan. Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Fort Hays State, 1980

Head Coach Ray Bechard
phone: (785) 864-7989
email:rayb@ku.edu

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After bringing in the 26th-ranked recruiting class according to PrepVolleyball.com, Bechard and the Jayhawks put together a highlight-reel 2010 campaign. Kansas posted a 17-14 record, the most victories recorded since the team's 19-win season in 2004. Those 17 wins resulted from an intense schedule that included six nationally ranked opponents. In the Jayhawks' 31 matches last season, 14 of them paired Kansas against teams that went on play in the NCAA Tournament.

Back-to-back preseason tournament titles kicked off the season as the Jayhawks jumped out to a 7-0 record a year ago. They claimed Creighton's Bluejay Invitational and their own Jayhawk Classic in the opening weekends. The excitement took off from there when Bechard guided his crew to a 3-1 victory against No. 10 Iowa State on Oct. 9, 2010, marking KU's first win against a top-10 opponent in program history. Of the Jayhawks' 13 all-time wins against top-25 foes, all but one came under Bechard's direction.

A year after his 900th career victory milestone in 2009, Bechard notched his 200th career win at Kansas during the 2010 season. The momentous achievement marks one of many for the veteran head coach. Entering his 14th season with the Jayhawks, Bechard has coached 74 Academic All-Big 12 selections, 11 All-Big 12 honorees and, most notably, he is the only coach in program history with an NCAA Tournament appearance on his resume, a feat which he accomplished for three-straight seasons from 2003-05.

The Sunflower State native has established himself as the KU volleyball program's winningest and longest-serving coach. He has compiled a remarkable all-time coaching record of 923-248 (.788 winning percentage) since arriving on the coaching scene 26 years ago as the head coach at Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan.

In 13 seasons at Kansas, Bechard has led the Jayhawks to a 207-188 mark and nine seasons at .500 or better. Additionally, Bechard has built a solid fan base for Kansas volleyball as the Jayhawks have consistently finished among the nation's top 50 attendance leaders the last several years. In 2010, nearly 950 fans filled Horejsi Family Athletics Center for every home match - good for the 41st best in the country. For good reason, the Jayhawks tied the most home court wins under Bechard's watch in 2010 (11).

His players get it done in the classroom, as well. With two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree Karina Garlington leading the way, Bechard saw 15 of his student-athletes named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll in 2010. Furthermore, the Jayhawks made it five-straight years to claim the AVCA Team Academic Award.

The only coach to bring the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament is on track for a return trip based the success he and the team have garnered in the last two seasons. In both 2009 and 2010, Bechard has led his teams to winning records, while also taking down a top-25 team in each year.

His team also enjoyed national recognition in 2008 when Garlington was named the school's second AVCA National Player of the Week on Nov. 10. In the same season, Garlington earned her first ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honor, as she was named third team. With her second award last season, Bechard has accumulated seven academic all-district honorees. In addition, Nicole Tate earned 2008 Big 12 All-Freshman team honors.

During the 2007 season, Bechard and his team put together a 3-2 upset over No. 18 Oklahoma, the sixth-straight season KU upset a ranked team, and a four-game victory against tournament-bound Missouri State, which made Bechard the winningest coach in KU volleyball history. The Jayhawks also picked up a win at Missouri, marking their first road win in Columbia since 2001.

The 2007 season saw the graduation of senior standout Emily Brown. Brown left her name littered all over the KU record books as she became the first Jayhawk to reach the 1,000 milestone in kills, digs and assists, while also landing on five top 10 career lists.

In 2006, KU picked up a Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year selection in Natalie Uhart. Uhart later suffered a season-ending injury prior to the team's first contest and that seemed to set the tone for the year as the Jayhawks were hampered with injuries over the course of the season.

However, the team still collected several accomplishments during the 2006 season including a tournament title at Temple to start off the year. In addition, the team dug up 15.81 balls per game, its highest dig average since the 2001 season and third-highest average in Bechard's 12 year stint.

Just one year earlier in 2005, Bechard led the Jayhawks to a 15-15 overall record and their third-straight postseason appearance. Despite a depleted roster due to injuries, KU battled No. 16 UCLA to four games in Los Angeles in the NCAA Tournament First Round.

The 2005 season also saw the careers of three talented seniors, Josi Lima, Paula Caten and Andi Rozum, come to a close. Caten became KU's first Academic All-American in volleyball, while Lima, KU's only four-time All-Big 12 First Team selection, finished her career as the Jayhawks' all-time kills leader and one of the most prolific volleyball players in school history. Rozum's name still sits at the top of the career assists list.

In addition to his team's achievements and the individual successes of his seniors, Bechard reached a significant milestone on Sept. 10, 2005, when he coached his 1,000th career match. The Jayhawks commemorated the milestone by defeating visiting Michigan State, 3-0.

In 2004, KU returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season and fell just short of a Sweet 16 appearance. The Jayhawks defeated Santa Clara, 3-1, before falling to host Washington, 3-2, in second-round action. KU came back from a two-game deficit to battle the Huskies, who advanced to the Final Four and then won the National Championship in 2005.

In addition to the Jayhawks' return to the postseason, KU enjoyed its first national ranking on Sept. 13 when Kansas came in at No. 24 in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll. A week later, Kansas reached its highest national ranking sitting at No. 21 in the poll.

The 2003 season became another celebrated year as KU achieved the most victories since 1991 (22) and the fourth most in program history, the most conference wins in school history (13) and the highest finish in the conference race (tied for third) since joining the Big 12 in 1996.

The greatest highlight of the 2003 season came when Bechard and the Jayhawks were invited to participate in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. KU shocked powerhouse Long Beach State by sweeping the 49ers 3-0 in first-round action before falling to host No. 4 Pepperdine 3-1 in the NCAA Second Round in Malibu, Calif.

Bechard also reached two significant coaching milestones in 2003 as he recorded his 800th career victory and 100th win at Kansas.

Since his arrival at KU over a decade ago, Bechard's teams have been making their mark in the KU record books, sitting atop numerous career lists. Bechard has helped develop the play of several standout players, including Lima, who took home All-Big 12 First Team honors all four years, as well as the 2002 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award as a freshman. Lima, KU's all-time kills leader (1,483), joined middle blocker Amanda Reves (1996-99) as the two players to earn first-team league honors under Bechard. Lima also became the first player in KU history to be named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region Team in 2003.

Katie Martinich was named the Big 12 Sportsperson of the Year for the 2007-08 academic year and Jennifer Kraft (1999-2002) earned the Big 12 Defensive Specialist award in 2002, while Ashley Michaels (2001-04) was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection for two-straight years.

Jill Dorsey, a 2004 graduate, led the Big 12 in her senior season with a scorching 4.64 digs per game and left KU as the all-time career digs leader (1,338). Michaels concluded her KU career as the program's leader in attack percentage (.317) and finished second behind Reves in block assists (324) and blocks per game (1.03). Bechard came to KU after spending 13 years as the head coach at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan. After a stellar coaching career at BCCC, Bechard was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1998.

In 13 seasons at Barton County, Bechard posted a career record of 716-60 (.923 winning percentage) and coached 23 Academic All-Americans. He completed his career at BCCC with the highest all-time winning percentage among junior college/community college coaches and ranked fourth all-time with 716 career wins.

Twice (1990 and 1993) Bechard was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Junior College Coach of the Year, and he was selected the AVCA District IV Coach of the Year 12 times.

In 1995, he was an assistant coach for the USA Volleyball Youth National Team which won the Slovakian Cup Championship in Zilina, Slovakia. Bechard, who was the only non-Division I coach on the staff, coached alongside TCU's Sandy Troudt and Penn State assistant Erin Tomblin. The team competed against youth teams from Poland and Slovakia.

Bechard began his coaching career when he served three years (1980-83) as head coach of the girls' volleyball team and the boys' basketball team at Lewis High School in Lewis, Kan. The first sign of his coaching talent was evident as he directed LHS to a pair of conference titles on the volleyball court.

A member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, Bechard currently serves as president of the organization. He was also a member of the board of directors of the AVCA from 1992-98 and has presented at the AVCA National Convention on two different occasions. Bechard was also president of the NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Association from 1989-92.

A native of Grinnell, Kan., Bechard played basketball at Barton County, where he helped the Cougars to a 45-13 record in his two seasons there.

Following his junior college playing career, Bechard attended Fort Hays State University where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1980. Two years later, he received his master's degree in physical education from Fort Hays State.

The Kansas native is married to the former Pamela Brown. The couple has a daughter, Ashley, who was a KU letterwinner in volleyball from 2001-04, and a son, Brennan, who played on the Kansas men's basketball team from 2007-09.