When Elaine Michaelis coached her first volleyball match at BYU, most of the players who would help her become one of the most prolific collegiate coaches ever were yet to be born.
After 40 seasons and consistent success on the court, she is giving up coaching volleyball. But she isn't retiring. She will continue as BYU's Director of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics to "see if we can't take the next step forward in providing better resources and additional support for the teams," she said during a press conference Tuesday, May 28, at BYU.
During a Church News telephone interview from New Orleans, La., the day after announcing the redirection of her career, she compared coaching to a chess match. "I am addicted to the strategy of the volleyball game," she said. She credited that, as well as the satisfaction of watching players develop on and off the court and reliable assistance from others for her remarkable longevity.
She said she had opportunities to go a different direction with her coaching skills, but never seriously considered leaving BYU. "Part of the reason for the success at BYU is that we have people there for a special reason," she said. "I think our camaraderie as we shared gospel principles in life made us more successful. Because of that, I don't think I could have accomplished as much elsewhere."
The thing she said she will miss the most is the closeness with the athletes. She enjoyed working with them as they succeeded in the sport as well as being examples to the youth of the Church as they positively represented the principles of the gospel.
"My philosophy is if we are not helping fulfill the mission of the Church, athletics shouldn't exist at BYU. We try very hard with all our volleyball teams to be role models through service, speaking engagements and good example," she said. The respected mentor saw her athletes influence people all over the world through playing, speaking at Church meetings and being good examples on several foreign tours.
Elaine Michaelis
But as she looked back, she said that probably the most impressive tour was the most recent when the team gained more than it gave. It was in 1999 when the Cougars were scheduled to play the Israeli national team and spent 10 days in Israel. "The opportunity to study the gospel at biblical sites was one of the most amazing experiences we ever had," she said.
While lamenting losing the closeness with the athletes, she said the visibility she gained on the sidelines has helped her prepare for more administrative responsibilities. Other people in athletics can relate to her because of what she has done in coaching.
Giving up one of her demanding jobs will give her more personal time, she acknowledged. She said she may have time to take a vacation or read a book. She'll even have more time for the Sunday School class of 14-year-olds she teaches in the Lakeview 8th Ward, Orem Utah Lakeview Stake. But it's obvious from her past experience and the way she talks now that athletics are her passion and she will remain deeply involved.
Following a stellar career as an athlete at BYU — in volleyball, basketball and softball — and with a bachelor's degree in physical education in hand, she was hired in 1961 to coach the BYU women's volleyball, basketball, softball and field hockey teams. She later earned a master's degree from BYU.
She continued as a multi-sport coach until she gave up basketball in 1977. By then, she had already established the volleyball program as one of the nation's best.
Until 1969, volleyball records weren't kept at BYU. But then the advent of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women had the Cougars off and running. They made their first trip to the AIAW national championships in the 1969 season and finished second at the tournament in 1973.
Among NCAA Division I volleyball coaches, her 887 wins since 1969 is second only to Andy Banachowski of UCLA with 919 wins in 35 seasons. Only six other female coaches (all in softball) have lead teams to more wins than Coach Michaelis in a Division I sport.
She has never had a losing season and just finished her 28th consecutive 20-win season while advancing to her 12th straight NCAA tournament. In fact, her Cougars have missed only one of 21 NCAA tournaments and, in 1993, they advanced to the NCAA final four. BYU's overall record in national tournaments is 73-44 under Coach Michaelis.
Possibly most remarkable is the Cougars' record in conference play under her tutelage — 356-37 (.906). Among her teams' 23 conference titles were the inaugural championships in each of the five leagues in which the Cougars have been volleyball members including the Western Athletic Conference and the Mountain West Conference.
She has earned numerous coaching honors, including the All-Time Great Coach Award from USA Volleyball in 2001, and has been named by her peers eight times as conference coach of the year. Eighteen of her players earned 51 all-America awards from various organizations.
She will join BYU Advancement Vice President Fred Skousen and another person affiliated with the sport of volleyball outside the BYU community on a committee to search for her successor, who will become only the third volleyball coach at the school.
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