Volleyball

		STEVE GRANT Head Coach (1982-)

Steve Grant, whose tenure at George Fox University is the longest of any current coach, begins his 27th season with the Bruins' volleyball team in 2008, having established the program as one of the most consistent winners in the nation during that time.

In Grant’s 26 years at George Fox, the Bruins have ended the season on the plus side of the ledger 20 times, including 13 straight winning records from 1987 through 1999. With a career record of 527-344 (.605), all at George Fox, he ranks in the top ten in victories among active NCAA Division III coaches.

Grant's teams have made their mark in post-season play as well. While a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, George Fox won NCCAA national championships in 1984 (30-10) and 1987 (33-22), and each time he was named NCCAA National Coach of the Year. While holding dual membership in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics at the same time, he was named NAIA District 2 Coach of the Year for leading the Bruins to outstanding seasons in 1984 and 1990 (31-13).

Two Grant-coached teams have won conference championships. His very first team in 1982 (17-14) captured the crown in the Women's Conference of Independent Colleges, the predecessor to the Northwest Conference. In 1998, while a dual member of both the NAIA and the NCAA, the Bruins went 31-8, won the Northwest Conference regular season and tournament titles, and reached the NAIA National Tournament in Kankakee, Illinois, for the only time in team history. He was named NWC Coach of the Year for that success. During the 1990s, five of his athletes won NAIA All-American awards, and five were named NAIA All-American Scholar-Athletes. He also served as an assistant coach with the men’s basketball program at George Fox until 1995.

Beside his volleyball duties, Grant is in his sixth year as chairman of the health and human performance department. He was honored by his peers with the 2006-2007 Faculty Achievement Award for Undergraduate Teaching. He also accepted additional duties within the George Fox sports department when he was named associate director of intercollegiate athletics in the summer of 2007.

Grant is a 1969 graduate of Biola University, where he was a three-sport athlete. As a guard for the basketball team, he was named team MVP both his junior and senior years. He earned First Team All-Conference, All-District, and All-Far West honors as a defender on the Eagles’ soccer team, and played baseball his freshman and junior years. He remained at his alma mater upon graduation for two years as a basketball and soccer assistant coach.

In 1971, Grant moved to Salem, Ore., to become head boys’ basketball coach and head baseball coach at Salem Academy. In 1975, he switched from baseball to volleyball. From 1981-82, he coached the women’s basketball team and was head men’s soccer coach at Western Baptist College (now Corban College) in Salem.

Grant, who also earned a master’s degree in education from Linfield College in 1985, lives in Newberg with his wife Kathy, an admissions counselor for the Continuing Education Department at George Fox. They have two children, Jeff, 36, and Bryan, 33.

Grant's Honors
1984 NAIA District 2 Coach of the Year
1984 NCCAA National Coach of the Year
1987 NCCAA National Coach of the Year
1990 NAIA District 2 Coach of the Year
1998 NWC Coach of the Year