Sharon Dingman

Position: Head Coach (Fifth Season) Alma Mater, Year: Northern Michigan, 1984

Sharon Dingman was named the eighth coach in the history of University of Iowa volleyball March 21, 2008. In four seasons at the helm of the volleyball program, she has imposed a winning attitude and established a volleyball culture that has Iowa fans excited about the immediate future.

In 2011, the Hawkeyes used their second of consecutive nationally recognized recruiting class to continue building a program that will in time ascend up the Big Ten Standings. Four Hawkeye freshmen combined to start 59 matches, and those fouro freshman combined with four sophomores to total 62-percent of Iowa's starting lineup. The Hawkeyes' youth flourished in the non-conference season, racing to a 10-3 record and a pair of tournament championships

In 2010, Iowa's four freshmen combined for 67 starts. The Hawkeyes started their freshman quartet four times, more than any other Big Ten school. Iowa kicked off the season with consecutive tournament championships and made program history by starting the season 3-0 for the second consecutive year.

Iowa knocked off No. 16 Michigan in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Nov. 12 to mark the third time in as many seasons Dingman and the Hawkeyes have defeated a top 25 opponent.

In 2009, Dingman helped Iowa match the best start in program history by guiding the Hawkeyes to a 6-0 start. Iowa eventually became the first team in school history to start the season 7-0 on the road. The Hawkeyes captured five conference wins in 2009, raising Dingman's two-year Big Ten win total to 11, the highest two-year stretch for an Iowa volleyball team since 2000-01.

Iowa has set season attendance records in each of Dingman's two years as head coach, including averaging a school-record 1,632 fans in 2009, the 23rd highest total in the country. Since 2008, the Hawkeyes have experienced eight of the school's top 10 all-time attendance figures. On November 11, 2009, the Hawkeye topped the 3,000 mark for the first time in program history when 3,102 fans saw Iowa host top-ranked Penn State.

Dingman led the Hawkeyes to their most successful campaign in recent memory in her first season at the helm. Iowa's 14 wins in 2008 were tied for the most since 2000, and its six conference victories are the most since 2000. Dingman guided the Hawkeyes to a ninth place finish in the competitive Big Ten Conference, which was the highest finish for a Hawkeye squad since 2000.

Dingman and the Hawkeyes set or snapped many streaks in a successful first season. Iowa won seven-straight matches, tying the fourth-longest winning streak in school history. The Hawkeyes also swept every opponent during the winning streak and won 15-straight sets. That was the longest set-winning streak since 1990. Iowa opened the conference season with wins over No. 18 Wisconsin and Northwestern, marking only the fifth time in school history that a Hawkeye team started 2-0 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes also had a winning record inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the first time since 1998.

The Hawkeyes also snapped conference losing streaks in Dingman's first season. Iowa defeated Ohio State for the first time in 39 tries, dating back to 1988. That win also broke an 18-match losing skid on the road in Big Ten play. Iowa's upset win over No. 18 Wisconsin snapped a 26-match losing streak against the Badgers, which went back to 1994.

Dingman set a personal milestone at Northwestern Nov. 14 when she recorded her 350th career win in Iowa's five-set victory. Her career record stands at 350-229 in 18 seasons as a head coach.

Dingman came to Iowa after serving as head coach at Illinois State from 2000-07, where she compiled a 147-98 record. In 2007, Dingman led the Redbirds to their first at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament since 1997 after reaching the championship match of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and finished with a 21-12 overall record.

Illinois State produced winning seasons in seven of the eight seasons under Dingman and never finished lower than fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds also reached at least the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in six of her eight seasons. Dingman produced 21 all-Missouri Valley Conference selections, including Player of the Year, Libero of the Year and two Freshman of the Year honorees. Two players also garnered all-district and all-region honors.

In her first season at Illinois State, Dingman guided the Redbirds to a 20-9 record, including a 15-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. Illinois State finished second in the Missouri Valley and also reached the championship match of the conference tournament, narrowly missing an automatic NCAA Tournament bid after dropping a tough match to nationally-ranked Northern Iowa .

Dingman led Illinois State to a record-setting season in 2004. She guided the team to 22 wins, which was the most since 1998 and broke a school record with 18-consecutive home wins. Two Illinois State players were named first team all-conference and one was an honorable mention AVCA all-District pick.

Dingman helped create a strong home court advantage at Illinois State. Five of the top 20 crowds in Missouri Valley Conference history occurred at Redbird Arena under Dingman, including a league-record 5,641 fans in a match against nationally-ranked Stanford in 2002.

Redbird teams under Dingman were also strong in the classroom. Eleven players were named to the league's scholar-athlete squad in her eight seasons and in 2004, four volleyball student-athletes earned perfect 4.00 grade-point-averages and the team recorded a 3.32 GPA. In 2005, her volleyball team won the academic award for the highest GPA in the athletic department.

Dingman started her head coaching career in 1991 at Auburn, where she led the Tigers to a 22-13 record in her only season at the helm. Her 1991 squad become the first Auburn volleyball tem to receive votes in the national poll and Auburn's fourth place finish in the SEC that season marked the highest finish ever for Auburn at the time. Two student-athletes earned all-SEC honors, including Jenifer Kleyn, who was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was an NCAA post-graduate scholarship recipient who carried a 4.0 GPA.

She then moved to Butler in 1992, where she served as head coach for eight seasons. Dingman led the Bulldogs to four 20 win seasons and three postseason tournaments, including an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1997 after capturing the Midwestern Collegiate Conference title. She was named MCC Coach of the Year in 1997 after compiling a 28-7 record. Dingman guided three student-athletes to MCC Player of the Year honors, seven to all-region accolades and five to "Top 100 Student" honors at Butler.

Prior to becoming a head coach, Dingman spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at three Division I programs. After one season at Northern Michigan (1984), she assisted at Texas Tech for three seasons (1985-87). Dingman then spent three seasons at Kentucky (1988-90) and helped the Wildcats to an SEC Championship in 1988 along with three-straight regional finals appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Dingman has become one of the most respected volleyball coaches in the nation after her work off the court. She was a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Board of Directors for seven years and has actively served on many other sport-related committees. She volunteered to support the Special Olympics, the Council of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators and the Citizens for Sports Equity. She was named an Outstanding Young Women of America in 1989 and served as a volunteer at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Her playing career included back-to-back Big Ten championships at Purdue (1979-80) before transferring to Northern Michigan, where she served as team captain and most valuable player. She earned her bachelor's degree in health sciences from Northern Michigan in 1984 and attended graduate school at Kentucky (1988-90), completing coursework towards her master's degree in health education.

Along with her career in volleyball, Dingman earned a gold medal in team handball at the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival and was invited to train with the U.S. national handball team in 1987. She also has completed five marathons.

Dingman is a Monticello, IN, native where she has been inducted into the Twin Lakes High School Hall of Fame.