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PROVO — Former BYU men’s volleyball coach Carl McGown died Friday in his home surrounded by his family, the school confirmed. He was 79.
McGown spent 13 seasons over the Cougar program, winning two national championships and a pair of national coach of the year honors. While compiling a 225-137 record at BYU, he also served in various roles with USA Volleyball on the national team and Olympic levels between 1984 and 2008.
"Carl was a coaching icon in the volleyball community and was recognized worldwide as one of the very best teachers, strategist and innovators the sport has ever known," BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a statement from the school. "He guided our fledgling men’s program from a club team to national prominence in the NCAA. Along the way he had a profound impact on the lives of many student-athletes. Our thoughts and prayers are with Susan and the McGown family."
McGown’s teams won seven total matches in his first two seasons, then went 10-13 and finished No. 12 nationally in 1992 to springboard a run of 11-straight seasons ranked in the top-15. He led the Cougars to their first national title in 1999 with a 30-1 overall record, then repeated the feat in 2001 after going 23-4.
The standout volleyball coach was inducted into the AVCA hall of fame in 2010, and entered the BYU hall of fame one year later. An accomplished scholar, McGown was published in the Journal of Motor Behavior, the National Strength and Conditioning Journal and the Physical and Sportsmedicine.
Prior to his time at BYU, McGown was a professor at Oregon and California before taking over as the athletic director at BYU-Hawaii from 1964-68. He joined the faculty at BYU in 1971, where he stayed until 2002, when he led the Cougars to a 23-7 record and a No. 3 national ranking.
A college All-American in 1964, McGown earned his bachelor’s degree from BYU in 1963, and eventually received a Ph.D. from Oregon in 1971.
He and his wife Susan were the parents of two sons, including former BYU volleyball coach Chris McGown. After setting off a small firestorm of controversy that preceded his resignation in 2002, Carl McGown later returned to BYU as a volunteer assistant coach under his son, who resigned in 2015 to spend more time with his family.
His death comes just one day after the passing of BYU football legend LaVell Edwards, who died Thursday at the age of 89.
