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Tulsa Names UCA's Steven McRoberts as Volleyball Head Coach
2/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Feb. 10, 2011
TULSA, Okla. - The University of Tulsa announced today the appointment of Steven McRoberts as the Golden Hurricane head volleyball coach.
McRoberts brings 14 years of head coaching experience to the Tulsa volleyball program. He has compiled a career record of 397-140, posted 20+ wins 13 times, had six seasons with 30+ wins and earned conference coach of the year honors nine times.
He has served the past seven years as head coach at the University of Central Arkansas, where he compiled a record of 146-58, and won at least 20 games in six of those seasons. His last two teams won back-to-back Southland Conference regular season titles and posted a 31-1 league mark during that stretch.
"We're excited to have Steven McRoberts step in to our volleyball program and continue the success that we've enjoyed over the past five years," said University of Tulsa Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham. "It's obvious that his knowledge of the game, his ability to recruit and the overall volleyball and educational experience that his student-athletes have achieved in the past is exactly what we were looking for in a head coach and makes him the best fit for The University of Tulsa."
"This is an exciting opportunity. I know it is a great opportunity for my family and me to move to The University of Tulsa. Tulsa has developed quite a volleyball reputation over the last few years. Obviously, I have big shoes to fill and I'm looking forward to getting in there and working hard to match their success and even take it to the next level," said McRoberts.
"One of the things that was so appealing was having most of the team coming back from winning the Conference USA Championship and going to the NCAA Tournament. That's one of my goals - to win conference championships and go to the NCAA Tournament. I know they have a couple of great recruits that signed in the fall and I'm looking forward to talking to them about what we want to accomplish at Tulsa," added McRoberts.
In 2010, McRoberts led the Sugar Bears to a 28-8 overall record and 15-1 Southland Conference mark. A year earlier, McRoberts led the Sugar Bears to a 27-3 overall mark in 2009, breaking the school winning percentage record for a third straight year, and a perfect 16-0 mark in league play. McRoberts' efforts led to his second consecutive Southland Conference Coach of the Year award.
In 2008, UCA went 12-4 in league play to finish atop the East Division of the Southland Conference and set an overall school record in winning percentage for the second straight season by going 24-7. McRoberts earned his first of three Southland Conference Coach of the Year awards in the 2008 campaign.
The 2007 season saw the Sugar Bears set the school record for winning percentage with a 24-9 record. UCA also finished 10-6 in Southland Conference play and placed third in the East Division for the second straight year. In 2006, UCA's first year of NCAA Division I play, the Sugar Bears posted a 19-17 mark.
McRoberts became the UCA head coach prior to the 2005 campaign and in his first season led the Sugar Bears to a 24-14 overall record, ending a streak of 10 consecutive losing seasons.
McRoberts' teams have done well in the classroom as well, as UCA volleyball student-athletes won the UCA Academic Achievement Award for having the highest team grade point average on campus for each of his first three seasons. The Sugar Bears received the AVCA Team Academic Award twice under McRoberts.
Prior to taking over the reigns at UCA, McRoberts compiled a 251-82 record for a .754 winning percentage during his eight-year tenure at Lubbock Christian University in Texas. The Lady Chaps reached the post-season and finished in the NAIA Top 20 every season from 1998 to 2003. In 1998, McRoberts guided LCU to a 38-4 record and a fifth-place finish at the national tournament.
At Lubbock Christian, McRoberts won the Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award six times and NAIA Region VI Coach of the Year three times. The Lady Chaps won seven straight conference titles under McRoberts' guidance.
McRoberts coached 14 NAIA All-Americans, 28 All-Region players, 42 All-Conference selections, three Southland Conference Freshmen of the Year and one SLC Player of the Year. His teams did equally well in the classroom, producing 10 Academic All-Americans.
In addition to his success with the volleyball program at Lubbock Christian, McRoberts also started both the men's and women's golf programs at LCU.
McRoberts received his bachelor's in kinesiology with a minor in social studies and health from Harding (Ark.) University in 1993 and his masters in physical education from Henderson State (Ark.) in 1996.
"I'd like to thank Bubba (Cunningham) and Crista (Troester) for selecting me as the next volleyball coach at Tulsa. They sold me, and everyone I met was so welcoming to me and made me feel like Tulsa would be a great place for my family and me.
"It was going to have to take an extraordinary job for me to leave Central Arkansas. We had built such a great program at Central Arkansas. Our athletic director, Brad Teague, and Bubba seem to have very similar visions and goals for the athletic department, and I look forward to working with Bubba to accomplish those goals at Tulsa," said McRoberts.
McRoberts and his wife, Stacy, have two children: son, Jackson, and daughter, Mollie.
