Different camp, same heartbreak. While the community still reels from the Nebraska Huskers’ iconic coach John Cook‘s retirement news, another Goliath of the sport added to the sadness only hours ago. This time, it’s Florida Gators veteran coach Mary Wise.

After almost five decades of service as an NCAA volleyball coach of which more than 30 were spent as Gators HC, the 15x SEC Coach of The Year recently announced that she will be retiring. The official Florida Gators X account took to the platform on February 6 to share “A message from Coach Wise.” The NCAA volleyball coach’s statement notes, “Gator Nation, it has been an honor to serve as your Head Volleyball Coach for the past 34 seasons.”

At 21, Mary Wise became the youngest head coach in NCAA history following her appointment at Iowa State in 1981. Since then her career has brought her 1068 wins – the most for any female coach in NCAA history. So it’s no wonder that it was a tough goodbye. “This is such a special place and there was never going to be an easy time to walk away, but after 43 years in the arena, the time to step away is now,” Wise stated further in her retirement note. Over the years, she has collaborated with some incredible people, and now, looking back at her illustrious career, the NCAA volleyball icon couldn’t help but feel grateful.

“I look back on my career with such gratitude for the assistant coaches, staff members, administrators, and especially the incredible women who said to being a Gator,” Wise’s heartfelt words read. She went on to express her joy at how NCAA volleyball has become bigger than ever “with participation, attendance and TV exposure” and noted her excitement to watch the next phase of the sport from her viewing seat.

But having a large crowd rallying behind her and the team isn’t something new for Mary Wise. In her first season as the Gators’ head coach in 1991, the coach saw 4,196 fans flocking to the O’Connell Center for the regular season finale home game. Quite the journey for the NCAA volleyball stalwart, wouldn’t you agree?

During the winter break, Wise finally decided that it was time to hand over the baton to someone else. “Normally, over the semester break, I get to recharge the battery, and I found out old batteries don’t recharge easily,” she said about how arriving at the decision wasn’t an impulsive one. Now, it remains to be seen where the Gators’ NCAA volleyball program goes from here: will it be able to maintain Wise’s legacy or will it have a hard time to transit to the next chapter? While that is to be revealed, changes in other camps are also giving rise to similar questions.

Several changes shaking up the NCAA volleyball circuit

Only last week, Dani Busboom Kelly was revealed to be John Cook’s successor as the Nebraska Huskers head coach. Kelly’s success with the Louisville Cardinals has sealed her reputation as an accomplished strategic NCAA volleyball coach, who gained insights into the sport during her time as a Nebraska athlete, under Coach Cook himself. For obvious reasons, John feels relaxed about handing over the coaching responsibilities to the Huskers alum and noted that it was his greatest accomplishment to do so, a feat even bigger than winning the NCAA title four times. He also called Dani the “right person” for the job at the retirement announcement presser.

Kelly had it in her contract with Louisville that she would be permitted to leave for her undergraduate alma mater without any issues. With her exit, the Capitals had to give a promotion to associate head coach Dan Meske to the position of the new head coach. The announcement prompted several former Louisville athletes, including Anna DaBeer, to congratulate the new HC on social media.

But these haven’t been the only changes in the NCAA volleyball scene in recent days. Kansas’ long-time coach Ray Bechard also retired recently, as Oregon Ducks’ Matt Ulmer was announced as the new coach for the Jayhawks. Ulmer has already begun assembling his coaching staff, roping in some of the most incredible coaching minds from all over the USA. So how do you foresee the 2025 NCAA volleyball season playing out with so many changes across so many successful programs? Tell us your thoughts in a comment!