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BYU Cougars men's volleyball

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BYU Cougars men's volleyball
Founded1990
UniversityBrigham Young University
Athletic directorBrian Santiago
Head coachShawn Olmstead (12th season)
ConferenceMPSF
LocationProvo, Utah, US
Home arenaGeorge Albert Smith Fieldhouse (capacity: 5,000)
NicknameCougars
ColorsBlue and white[1]
   
NCAA tournament champion
1999, 2001, 2004
NCAA tournament runner-up
2003, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021
NCAA tournament semifinal
1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
NCAA tournament appearance
1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
Conference tournament champion
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
1999, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021
Conference regular season champion
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021

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.

History

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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]

Venue

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A BYU match at the Smith Fieldhouse in 2017

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]

Coaches

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Name Career Record Pct.
Carl McGown 1990–2002 205–131 .610
Tom Peterson 2003–2006 90–30 .750
Shawn Patchell 2007–2010 87–33 .725
Rob Neilson 2011 20–8 .714
Chris McGowan 2012–2015 88–31 .739
Shawn Olmstead 2016–present 208–88 .703

Two coaches have been named the AVCA National Coach of the Year: Carl McGown (1999 and 2001) and Chris McGown (2013).[8]

Players

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BYU playing at the Smith Fieldhouse in 2017

As of 2025, BYU men's volleyball has had 39 student-athletes receive a total of 84 All-America honors. Three team members have been awarded AVCA Player of the Year: Carlos Moreno (2004), Taylor Sander (2014), and Gabriel García Fernández (2020).[9]

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

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Record table
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Carl McGown (Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) (1990–1992)
1990 Carl McGown 5–221–156th—
1991 Carl McGown 2–251–156th—
1992 Carl McGown 10–135–116th—
Carl McGown: 17–607–41
Carl McGown (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) (1993–2002)
1993 Carl McGown 15–1012–74th—
1994 Carl McGown 21–615–42nd—
1995 Carl McGown 14–812–73rd—
1996 Carl McGown 8–147–125th—
1997 Carl McGown 20–614–53rd—
1998 Carl McGown 16–614–53rd—
1999 Carl McGown 30–118–11stNCAA Champions
2000 Carl McGown 18–913–63rd—
2001 Carl McGown 23–414–31stNCAA Champions
2002 Carl McGown 23–716–64th—
Carl McGown: 205–131142–97
Tom Peterson (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) (2003–2006)
2003 Tom Peterson 23–717–51stNCAA Runner-up
2004 Tom Peterson 29–420–21stNCAA Champions
2005 Tom Peterson 20–1015–73rd—
2006 Tom Peterson 18–914–84th—
Tom Peterson: 90–3066–22
Shawn Patchell (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) (2007–2010)
2007 Shawn Patchell 23–618–42nd—
2008 Shawn Patchell 25–518–42nd—
2009 Shawn Patchell 17–1313–9T-5th—
2010 Shawn Patchell 22–915–72nd—
Shawn Patchell: 87–3364–24
Rob Neilson (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) (2011–2011)
2011 Rob Neilson 20–816–62nd—
Rob Neilson: 20–816–6
Chris McGown (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) (2012–2015)
2012 Chris McGown 24–717–53rd—
2013 Chris McGown 26–521–31stNCAA Runner-up
2014 Chris McGown 21–918–61stNCAA Final Four
2015 Chris McGown 17–1014–85th—
Chris McGown: 88–3170–22
Shawn Olmstead (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) (2016–present)
2016 Shawn Olmstead 27–419–31stNCAA Runner-up
2017 Shawn Olmstead 26–516–2T-1stNCAA Runner-up
2018 Shawn Olmstead 22–710–21stNCAA Final Four
2019 Shawn Olmstead 13–126–6T-4th—
2020 Shawn Olmstead 17–16–01stCancelled (COVID)
2021 Shawn Olmstead 20–417–31stNCAA Runner-up
2022 Shawn Olmstead 8–173–9T-6th—
2022 Shawn Olmstead 8–173–9T-6th—
2023 Shawn Olmstead 19–78–42nd—
2024 Shawn Olmstead 16–97–53rd—
2025 Shawn Olmstead 19–107–54th—
2026 Shawn Olmstead 21–127–76th—
Shawn Olmstead: 208–88106–46
Total:698–321

      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

References

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  1. ↑ "Colors". Brigham Young University Publications and Graphics. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. ↑ "MSPF National Championship History" (PDF). MSPF. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Napier, Brian. "BYU Men's Volleyball: What to Know Before MPSF". Flo Volleyball. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "AVCA National Collegiate MVB Poll Archives". American Volleyball Coaches Association. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Myers, Jacob. "9 of the largest arenas in women's college volleyball". NCAA. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "Attendance Records". BYU. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "Attendance Records". BYU. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "2024 AVCA NCAA Division I Coaches of the Year". American Volleyball Coaches Association. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  9. ↑ "AVCA Players of the Year". American Volleyball Coaches Association. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
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