Mary Wise (born August 8, 1959), née Mary Fischl, is a retired American college

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

coach, former player and author. Wise was the head coach of the

Florida Gators women's volleyball Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

team of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

for 34 seasons. In Wise's career at Florida, her Gators teams won nineteen Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season championships, and twelve SEC tournament titles. The Gators also made eight Final Four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including an appearance in the 2003 and 2017 NCAA Championship finals. With 1,068 career coaching wins, Mary Wise has the most all-time Division I women's volleyball wins among female head coaches.

Early years

Wise was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, in 1959.Nena Rey Hawkes & John F. Seggar, ''Celebrating Women Coaches: A Biographical Dictionary'', Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, pp. 246–251 (2000). Her father Richard Fischl was a dentist, and her mother Lila managed his dental practice. Wise was one of six children.

College career

Wise attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash ...

, where she played for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

volleyball team from 1977 to 1980. She was a standout setter, and was twice named to the All-Midwest Regional team, while the Boilermakers won two

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

championships in 1979 and 1980. A dean's list student, she graduated from Purdue in 1981 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in physical education.GatorZone.com, Volleyball, Coaches & Support Staff
Mary Wise
Retrieved April 27, 2011.

Coaching career

Iowa State

Wise was 21 years old when she became the head coach of the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

volleyball team at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...

in 1981; she was also the youngest Division I coach in the history of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). In four seasons as the Cyclones' head coach, she compiled a win–loss record of 81–63.

Kentucky

Wise had been out of coaching for a year and living in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in 1986, when she was offered an assistant coaching position on the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

volleyball program staff at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. Wise rose from graduate assistant in 1986 to associate head coach in 1990. During those five seasons, the Wildcats won the SEC championship twice and advanced to the NCAA regional final once.

Florida

Wise was hired as the head coach of the Florida Gators volleyball team at the University of Florida in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

in 1991. In the twenty seasons since then, her Gators teams won nineteen SEC regular season championships. She is one of only two coaches in conference history in any sport, men's or women's, to win as many as nineteen conference titles. From 1994 to 2004, the Gators did not lose a regular season SEC match—a feat unmatched by any school, ever. In 2003, Wise's Florida team won 105 straight games during the course of the season, eclipsing the previous

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record by 36 games. This record has since been broken by Penn State who won 111 consecutive games. Since 1991, Florida has amassed 571 victories in matches—more than any other school in the nation. On the forefront of increasing awareness and exposure for volleyball, Wise has ushered in a philosophy of innovation when it comes to rules changes and volleyball youth opportunities. Her expertise has led to numerous appointments on international coaching staffs. In the summer of 2004 Wise took her own team on a twelve-day, three-nation tour of Western Europe as the Gators faced several national and junior national teams. In May 2006, Wise guided the USA Volleyball A2 Team at the U.S. Open Championships as the volleyball community became one of the first groups to compete in a large-scale event in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

since

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. Wise's Gators showed a commitment to playing an active role in community leadership and involvement. An annual tradition, each year members of the Gators volleyball team visit children at nearby

UF Health Shands Hospital UF Health Shands Hospital is a teaching hospital of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is one of seven hospitals in the University of Florida Health system, and one of two campuses for UF's J. Hillis Miller Health Science Cen ...

during the

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

holiday, while players also participate in the Goodwill Gators program. In 2003, Wise helped raise $7,500 for the Children's Miracle Network after more than 4,000 Gator fans packed the O'Connell Center for a match against South Carolina. Wise picked up the number one recruiting class for the class of 2008, as she signed the

Gatorade National Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

and top recruit, Kelly Murphy, as well as five other recruits ranked in the top 50. On February 6, 2025, Mary Wise announced her retirement from the University of Florida after 34 seasons.

Achievements and records

Wise became the first ever coach to win 100 straight games and was the first female coach to coach in the NCAA national championship final, as well as being the first female coach to coach in more than one NCAA Final Four. She became the first female coach in NCAA Division I history to win 15 conference titles in the first 15 seasons at one school, thus becoming the only coach to ever win 130 consecutive regular season conference matches. She is the first coach to ever win 90 percent of matches in the first 16 seasons at one school and she reached the 500 win plateau faster than any other Division I female coach.

Awards and accolades

* Thirteen-time winner of the SEC Coach of the Year Award (1991–1993, 1995–1996, 1998–2002, co-winner in 2007, and 2014, co-winner in 2017) * Two-time winner of American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year (1992, 1996, 2017) * American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Time Great Coach (2006) * Past president of American Volleyball Coaches Association

Personal

Wise lives in

with her husband, Mark Wise, and their two children, Matt and Mitchell.

Coaching Record

Source:

Bibliography

*''Volleyball Drills for Champions.'' Human Kinetics Publishers (1998) *''Volleyball Coaching Bible'' (Part IV: Individual Skills and Team Tactics, Chapter 13: Serving)

Videos

*''Foundations for Successful Volleyball'' (1999). .

References

Bibliography

* Mary Wise, ''Volleyball Drills for Champions'' (1998). .

External links

Mary Wise
– Official biography at GatorZone.com gators. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Mary 1959 births Living people American volleyball coaches American women's volleyball players Purdue Boilermakers women's volleyball players Florida Gators women's volleyball coaches Kentucky Wildcats women's volleyball coaches Iowa State Cyclones women's volleyball coaches Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois American female sports coaches Volleyball players from Indiana Sportspeople from Gainesville, Florida 20th-century American sportswomen

Early years

College career

Coaching career

Iowa State

Kentucky

Florida

Achievements and records

Awards and accolades

Personal

Coaching Record

Bibliography

Videos

See also

References

Bibliography

External links