Colorado State University Athletics
CSU volleyball announces promotion for Mahoney
9/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 23, 2008
By John Manuszak
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State volleyball Head Coach Tom Hilbert announced Tuesday the official promotion of Jesse Mahoney to associate head coach.
Mahoney, who was promoted prior to the start of the 2008 season, is in his fourth season with the Rams. He serves as the recruiting coordinator in addition to working with the blocking schemes and middle blockers.
“We made the decision in July but we have never formally announced it,” said Hilbert. “In light of our recent success, I think it’s a good time to let everyone know the role that Jesse plays in Rams Volleyball.”
Since his arrival in Fort Collins, Mahoney has put together two recruiting classes ranked in the top 25 in the country by PrepVolleyball.com. The 2007 class was ranked 14th in the country while the 2008 class was ranked 22nd.
“I’m very grateful to Coach Hilbert and the administration for this opportunity,” said Mahoney. I’m proud to be part of this great program, university and community and I’m excited about the future of volleyball here at Colorado State.”
Mahoney’s coaching presence has also been felt on the court for the No. 13 Rams as he has turned CSU into one of the top blocking teams in the country. In fact, the Rams lead the country in blocks per set (3.21) this season. In 2005, CSU ranked ninth in the NCAA in blocks per game while in 2007, CSU led the Mountain West Conference and finished fifth in the country in that category. Middle blockers Dre Downs (all-conference and all-region in 2005 in her first season at that position) and Mekana Barnes (all-conference in 2006 and Mountain West Player of the Year and a third-team All-American in 2007) have also thrived under Mahoney’s watch.
“Jesse is a very capable coach in every area,” said Hilbert. “He was a Division II head coach for six years and he could easily be a Division I head coach in a lot of programs. The longer he is here, the more areas we give him complete autonomy of. I think naming him associate head coach is appropriate because he does so much already.”
Mahoney came to Colorado State from Fort Hays State, where he was the head coach from 1999-2004. While at Fort Hays State, Mahoney tallied a record of 107-82, including a mark of 56-12 in both 2003 and 2004.
A native of Boulder, Colo., he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado in 1995 and a Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Colorado School of Law in 1999. He is married to the former Gwen McEntyre and the couple has two children: Macy James (2) and Griffin (1).
