INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Athletics Department and Director of Athletics Dr. Roderick Perry have announced the hiring of Todd Garvey as the Jaguars' next head volleyball coach. Garvey spent the past five seasons as head coach at Jacksonville State where he amassed a 103-39 mark (.725) with the Gamecocks, including a 24-6 record in 2022. He becomes the ninth head coach in IUPUI program history.
"This is a great day for our volleyball program," Perry said. "I would like to welcome Coach Garvey to the IUPUI family. He brings a tremendous amount of successful Division I experience, as both a head and assistant coach.
"He is highly regarded around the country, and we look forward to him building on the previous tradition of success as we start to transform and compete for Horizon League Championships."
Garvey's .725 winning percentage ranks 25th nationally among active Division I head coaches as he won 20-or-more matches in three of his first five campaigns at JSU. Last season, his squad collected road wins at Indiana and Clemson and just missed a perfect non-conference record as his squad fell 3-2 to Auburn in its final non-league tilt.
"I really enjoyed my time at JSU but am excited to get back closer to home and am thrilled it is at a great university like IUPUI," Garvey said. "Thanks to Dr. Perry, Renia Edwards and everyone at IUPUI for this great opportunity. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I'm excited to see where we can take this program.
"There are so many talented volleyball players in Indianapolis and surrounding areas that it will be great for recruiting. IUPUI has great academics, a nice campus and the city of Indianapolis seems like an amazing city to live in. I look forward to meeting the team and getting started."
Garvey helped steer the JSU program through turbulent times as an EF-3 tornado struck campus in his first two months on the job, leaving him to find new meeting spaces, practice facilities, locker rooms and game day venue. His first career win came on August 24, 2018 with a 3-0 sweep of rival North Alabama. Using a temporary facility from JSU's physical recreation program, he finished his debut season 17-13 and 9-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play to earn the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. The Gamecocks went on to beat SIUE for the program's first postseason win in nine years.
In year two, his squad exceeded all expectation from outsiders, rolling to a 13-3 league record to claim the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship - the program's first in 10 years. He was tabbed OVC Coach of the Year and coached the league's Setter of the Year and three first team all-conference performers.
Following the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic in early 2020, his third season at JSU was also challenging, but his squad responded by beginning an abbreviated spring schedule with a 15-0 start. JSU held the second-longest winning-streak in Div. I volleyball at one point and held a top-20 RPI throughout the season. They finished the regular-season 15-1 and claimed its second consecutive OVC crown before losing a tiebreaker with co-champion Morehead State for the top-seed. JSU then reached the OVC title match for the first time since 2009 before falling to MSU to close the season at 16-2.
His 2021 season saw a 25-7 overall record for the program's most wins in a single-season since 2009. In addition, JSU finished 15-1 at home, marking the most home wins in the program's history. This past season, his team went 12-4 in the Atlantic Sun and 24-6 overall with an 11-3 mark at home.
Garvey has made similar coaching stops at Lipscomb University in Nashville, where he spent the 2017 season as the Associate Head Coach. In his lone season with the Bisons, he coached the 2017 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, who also earned all-region honors and was one of 12 players named to the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team for its China Tour.
Garvey joined the collegiate ranks in 2015 at Purdue as a volunteer assistant. He needed just one season to secure a full-time assistant position at Ohio University, where the 2016 Bobcats went 16-14 overall and 11-5 in Mid-American Conference play.
Prior to Purdue, he put together a remarkable run at the high school level, quickly ascending up the prep ranks as he led the Mercy Academy program in Louisville, Ky., from 2007-14. There, he amassed a 320-41 record, winning three state championships and a national title. His 2008 team went 40-1 overall as Garvey was named National Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and USA Volleyball Magazine. Mercy would go on to repeat as state champions in 2009 and again in 2014, while finishing as runners-up in 2010 and 2012. His final squad finished 40-1 and crowned 2014 Prep Volleyball National Champions. Overall, Garvey saw six of his eight teams earn a Top 20 national ranking.
Garvey was previously one of the AVCA's 30 Under Thirty Award recipients in 2009 and received the Kentucky Region 6 High School Coach of the Year award seven times and coached the AVCA Under Armour High School All-America game in 2008. He also has extensive club experience, starting with MAVA and later Union Volleyball Club in Louisville. In addition to coaching multiple USAV national qualifiers, his 2006 13's team won the USAV Junior Olympics title. A year later, his 14's team finished second in the AAAU National Championship open division.
Garvey is a Louisville-native and graduated from the University of Louisville in 2003. He is expected to begin duties at IUPUI on Feb. 8.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT TODD GARVEY
"This is a home run hire and a great fit. Todd is a person with great character and is a teacher of the game. Players are going to enjoy playing for him. He's an extremely hard worker and is constantly looking for ways to learn. He knows the Midwest well and the contacts and relationships he's built will be helpful in recruiting."
Kelly Sheffield, University of Wisconsin Head Coach
"I'm excited for Todd to be closer to home where he is confident he can recruit outstanding student-athletes to IUPUI. Todd creates success wherever he goes. From high school, club, and Division I, all Todd has experienced is winning. I learned quickly when Todd joined our staff that his former players had incredible admiration for his efforts and our players enjoyed Todd's style and skill-set. I fully expect to see Todd take IUPUI to unprecedented levels and do it quickly."
Dave Shondell, Purdue University Head Coach
