Colorado State University Athletics
Hilbert makes Rams volleyball history
10/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 12, 2008
By John Manuszak
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Since Tom Hilbert’s arrival at Colorado State in 1997, he has changed the face of Rams volleyball. Now, in his 12th season as the Rams head coach, Hilbert has added another huge accomplishment to his growing list.
On Sunday afternoon, in front of a national television audience and 2,017 fans at Moby Arena, Hilbert set Rams history. With the Rams’ 3-2 come-from-behind win against New Mexico, Hilbert posted his 300th career victory at CSU and moved past Rich Feller (299) for the most in Colorado State volleyball history. In addition, Hilbert joined former men’s basketball Head Coach Jim Williams (1955-80) as the only two coaches in Colorado State history to amass 300 career wins at the university.
“When you hit a milestone like this it’s because you’ve been somewhere a long time,” said Hilbert. “To me that’s what so great about it. When you coach at the same place for 13 years and have this success, it’s a great feeling. I love this job. I love living here and the support we get from this community is amazing. It’s a celebration of my longevity more than anything else.”
Hilbert currently owns a record of 300-73 (.804) at Colorado State and an overall record of 474-145 (.766) in 20 seasons as a head coach, including eight years at Idaho. Hilbert’s teams have appeared in 13 consecutive NCAA tournaments and posted at least 20 wins in each of those seasons. He has coached six All-Americans at CSU, including Mekana Barnes, the Rams’ senior middle blocker who was named a third-team AVCA All-American last season.
“We are extremely proud of Coach Hilbert’s 300th win,” said Colorado State Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk. “It’s a testament to his consistent commitment to excellence in his program and helps set the standard for what we are trying to achieve for all of our sports at CSU. He is one of college volleyball’s best coaches.”
Since the beginning of the Mountain West Conference in 1999, Hilbert has led the Rams to 10 conference championships (six regular season and four tournament titles) while earning MWC Coach of the Year honors six times. During that time, Colorado State has gone 65-6 (.915) in home matches in conference play and the Rams have an overall winning percentage at Moby Arena of .888 (167-21).
“Congratulations to Tom,” said Feller, currently the head coach of the No. 5 California Golden Bears. “That is a wonderful accomplishment. I wish him and his team all the best the rest of the way this season.”
This season, the Rams are off to a 16-1 start, including a perfect 6-0 record in conference play. It marks their best overall start to a season since the team went 20-0 to start the 2001 campaign. The Rams have won 13 straight matches overall and 25 in a row at Moby Arena.
