Colorado University Athletics
New Buffs Volleyball Coach Mahoney Sets Sights High
December 18, 2015 | Volleyball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — New Colorado volleyball coach Jesse Mahoney has fond memories of the Buffs program in its heyday.
Mahoney attended CU in the early 1990s, when Brad Saindon's program won a pair of Big Eight Tournament championships — defeating Nebraska in the finals on both occasions — as well as the 1993 regular season conference title. Mahoney also remembers the crowds those teams drew to the Coors Events Center, when several thousand fans would watch the Buffs play big matches.
Now, Mahoney wants to replicate that atmosphere — one in which the Buffs are playing for championships, and doing so in front of crowds that befit the occasion.
“When Brad Saindon had this program really at its peak in the early '90s, there was a great product out on the floor,” Mahoney said Friday at his first press conference as CU's head coach. “There was a lot of excitement. There were great athletes. Winning always makes things exciting. That's first and foremost.”
But Mahoney also said there's more to the equation than just winning. He wants his team to engage the university and the community, something he believes will establish a connection between the program and its supporters.
“You have to connect the players in the community as much as possible so everyone wants to come out,” Mahoney said. “I always say if you can get somebody to come out once and you do the right thing while they're there, you can get them to come back. That's definitely the goal for us.”
Mahoney, who comes to CU from Denver University, takes over a program that has slowly improved over the last few years, playing in two of the last three NCAA Tournaments.
But his goal is to take the program to the next level.
“In meeting with the members of the search committee and especially the players, it was evident there's a lot of passion and a lot of excitement for what this volleyball program can be,” Mahoney said. “There's a vision for it being an elite program in the Pac-12 and an elite program nationally, and I truly believe we have all the pieces in place to make that happen. We have world-class facilities, first-class support for our student athletes and, of course, an amazing university in the most beautiful city in the world.”
Mahoney was introduced to the media Friday afternoon by CU athletic director Rick George.
“One of the things that we said is we're going to go out and find the very best coach, mentor and leader that can lead this program into the future,” George said. “We had a lot of interest in this position, a lot of people that were engaged and wanting to be a part of this. We didn't have to look far to find the guy that's going to lead our program into the future. He's got two degrees from Colorado. He's a Buff. He's the perfect guy, and we're excited about what he's going to do.”
Mahoney's connections to the community and to CU are no doubt strong. A Boulder native, he has two degrees from CU (a bachelor's degree in Psychology in 1995 and a Juris Doctorate degree from CU's Law School in 1999), and his first coaching job came when he headed the CU club volleyball team for four years. He also played for the CU club team when it won a national championship.
“This is truly a dream come true for me,” Mahoney said. “I know first-hand what a special place this is, what a special community this is and what an amazing university this is. From the moment I left Boulder in 1999 for my first college job out in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, my goal and my focus was to someday be sitting right here in this chair.”
Mahoney, though, won't be doing much more sitting anytime soon. He's already connecting with current players and recruits, and is assembling his staff. He's met personally with a number of current players and is scheduling meetings with others as soon as possible.
“There's a lot of work to be done,” he said. “We have to get going right away. I'm definitely looking forward to being ready to go in January, when all the students get back, and getting ready to build a championship program.”
Other highlights from Friday's press conference:
On recent signees: Mahoney said he has already spoken with the Buffs' two national letter of intent signees from the fall, Lauren Dorrell and Justine Spann. “I've made sure they're still committed to this program, which they are, and that they're excited about it, which they are.”
On playing CSU again: The Buffs have not played in-state rival Colorado State on any kind of regular basis in recent years. Mahoney, who worked as an assistant at CSU under Tom Hilbert for seven years, said he wants to resume a regular series with the Rams.
“I have no problem playing CSU and playing Tom up there,” Mahoney said. “I think it would be important for this program. I don't think there's anyone we need to worry about playing, certainly in this state. They've done a great job up there and have had a lot of success, and there's no reason not to play them. I think we're playing them next year. Tom and I talked about it a little bit already.”
On in-state recruiting: The state of Colorado has been a hotbed of volleyball for years, and many of the state's best players have often left for other schools.
“I think every elite volleyball player in the state of Colorado should come visit this campus. We're going to make that happen. Per capita, Colorado is three or four in Division I volleyball players in the NCAA, so there's a lot of talent here. In the last 10 years I think there's been 15 players from the state of Colorado in the Final Four. There's some in the (NCAA) finals tomorrow night. That's obviously a priority for us. We feel like we're the flagship university in this state and the best players in the state should want to come here.”
On what style he likes to coach: “I think offensively we'll kind of mimic what the national team is doing right now, which is a very fast brand of volleyball. We talked about the early '90s, Brad Saindon was one of the pioneers of that. Volleyball went away from that a little bit, and it's kind of coming back. If you watch a national team match, that's what we're going to try to do, fast and hopefully really physical. Defensively, we'll be on the same wavelength. Teams that I've coached in the past have been some of the best blocking teams in the country. Some of the schemes we do there are really effective, so we'll throw some wrinkles in there. That's kind of the short version.”
On his recruiting scope: “I think Boulder can recruit nationally. I think culturally, and especially in the Pac-12, we'll look west a lot. I think we'll fight a lot of the elite programs in the Pac-12 for some of the elite players in the country. I think we can draw great players from anywhere, and we're going to go everywhere we can.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
