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Head Coach Russ Rose Penn State finished sixth in the final 1990 Tachikara Coaches Poll, the program’s highest final ranking ever at the time and the AVCA and Volleyball Monthly named three Nittany Lions —Jo Ann Elwell, Michelle Jaworski and Noelle Zientara — All-Americans. An 11-time nominee for National Coach of the Year, Rose garnered the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award in 1984, ‘85, ‘87, ‘88, ‘89 and ‘90. roughout his career, Rose has been called upon to share his expertise with the coaches and players who represent the United States in international competition. In 1989, he was an assistant coach with the United States men’s national team for an exhibition series with Canada and the Soviet Union. His work on the international scene was to have continued in July of that year, but personal commitments and time constraints prevented him from accepting the position as head coach of the U.S. women’s team to the Maccabiah Games. In 1990, Rose worked with members of the men’s national and developmental teams during training camp in San Diego. In 1993, he assisted in the U.S. men’s matches with Canada and the women’s team against China. He also assisted with the U.S. men as they prepared for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. In the summer of 2002, Rose assisted the U.S. men’s team on a 13-day tour of Italy where the athletes competed against the world’s top teams, including Brazil, Italy, Yugoslavia, Russia and Holland. He also served as team manager for the U.S. men’s team at the Four Nations Tournament in Leipzig, Germany, in May of 2008 and was an honorary chair for the 2010 STATE games. An instructor in the USVBA coaches certification program, Rose has previously served as a national referee and evaluator and state director for volleyball for the Special Olympics. In 2005, USA Volleyball named Rose one of their All-Time Great Coaches, making him the first Big Ten coach to ever receive the honor and putting him in the company of the best volleyball coaches in history, including previous Olympic coaches as well as many of their peers. Rose was a member of the NCAA Division I Volleyball Committee for six years and the NCAA representative to the United States Volleyball Association Rules Committee. Rose served as head coach of the U.S. men’s team, which won the bronze medal at the 1985 Maccabiah Games, and the U.S. women’s silver medal

Rose was honored as the 2007 AVCA Coach of the Year, along with being recognized for his 900 career wins and his induction into the AVCA Hall of Fame, all in December in Sacramento.

team in the 1981 Maccabiah Games. He won bronze medals as an assistant coach of the women’s team in the 1982 National Sports Festival and as the East women’s head coach at the 1983 Festival. An active clinician, Rose also coached professional men’s volleyball in the Superior League in Puerto Rico in 1976 and has continued to do clinics on the island as well as in the United States. Players are not the only ones to benefit from Rose’s tutelage. More than 25 individuals within the college coaching fraternity have gained instruction from Rose. A 1975 graduate of George Williams College, Rose was a member of the school’s team that won the 1974 National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics national championship. He was the captain of the 1975 team that finished third in NAIA competition. After graduation, Rose remained at George Williams for two years as a part-time coach, helping the women’s team win two state titles and place sixth in national competition. He also assisted the men’s team that won the national championship in 1977. In 1978, he completed his master’s degree at Nebraska, where he was the defensive coach for the Cornhusker women. While writing his thesis on volleyball statistics, he led the second team to a two-year varsity mark of 525. A 2010 inductee into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Rose married Lori Barberich, a former three-time All-American at Penn State, in 1986. ey are the parents of four sons, Jonathan, Michael, Christopher and Nicholas.

1999 & 2007 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, 27 CONSECUTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES