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UPDATE: Dave Boos resigns as women’s volleyball head coach

University of Florida SID: "We are not releasing anything today" about Boos as Gators' assistant

Published: Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Updated: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 16:03

The Ball State University Athletics Department Wednesday afternoon officially announced that Dave Boos has resigned from his job as head coach of the Ball State women's volleyball team, effective Friday.

Boos' assistant coach, Marci Peniata, will serve as interim coach until a permanent replacement is hired. 

Boos or his players were not made available to comment as of Wednesday morning.

Boos is also rumored to head to the University of Florida and serve as an assistant coach, sources say. Boos served as current Florida head coach Mary Wise's assistant coach on the 2006 USA A-2 Women's National Team.

Mary Howard, associate athletics director for communication at Florida, said late Wednesday afternoon that, "We are not releasing anything today."

Boos' initial three-year contract with Ball State ended in late-January, but he told The Ball State Daily News in December that he was offered a one-year extension with the school through the 2010 season.

However, when The Daily News requested to obtain a copy of Boos' new contract in February through a public records request, it was turned down because the Office of University Compliance said it did not exist.

Boos completed his third season as the Cardinals' coach Nov. 20, 2009 with a 3-1 loss to Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Quarterfinals. He had compiled a 32-62 (17-31 MAC) career record at Ball State.

Boos was named the fifth coach in the program's history Jan. 8, 2007, when he replaced longtime coach Randy Litchfield. Boos came from the University of Minnesota, where he spent five seasons as an assistant coach and later as associate head coach.

His career at Ball State had seen improvement each season. In the 2007-08 campaign, his first season, the Cardinals finished 5-25 (4-12 MAC) with a mostly depleted roster left over from Litchfield's final team. In 2008-09, Ball State improved to 12-21 (6-10 MAC), and with his first two full recruiting classes in place, the Cardinals finished 15-16 (7-9 MAC) in 2009-10.

"Coach Boos has done a good job building the women's program and improving their national rankings," Ball State men's volleyball coach Joel Walton said. "He's done a good job recruiting."

Boos' five-player recruiting class for the 2010-11 season included four players who were named to the PrepVolleyball.com 2010 Senior Aces "The 150" list as the top 250 recruits nationally. The other player was on the "Just Missing List," landing right outside the top 250.

"He struggled because his team has been young, but I felt this upcoming year was going to be a breakthrough year," Walton said. "I would guess one of his hardest decisions is leaving the players that he recruited. For every coach there is a bond between him and their players. Breaking that bond is difficult for every coach."

Whether or not these recruits will still play at Ball State at this time is unknown.

Boos also was in the process of hiring an assistant coach after his top assistant coach, Hugh Hernesman, left in December to become co-head coach at Northwestern State University with his wife, Stephanie, a former Ball State volunteer coach.

For continuing updates on this story, check back with bsudailynews.com, and for complete coverage, check out tomorrow's edition of The Ball State Daily News.

Staff Reporter Nathan Pace contributed to this report.

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30 comments

Anonymous
Mon Mar 22 2010 13:28
Poor Unroe!
Anonymous
Tue Mar 16 2010 19:28
WOW Weeeeee....
Florida: Dave Boos has been named assistant volleyball coach at the University of Florida. Boos joins the Gators after spending three seasons as the head coach at Ball State University. (posted 3/16/10)
Anonymous
Thu Mar 11 2010 12:03
It has been a week so where is he going?
Anonymous
Wed Mar 10 2010 11:18
Now I hear that the AD is looking. Maybe he should be gone and a well qualified coach may want to come. These poor girls. I hear Marci is great - thank goodness for that!
Anonymous
Wed Mar 10 2010 09:05
That can happen anytime anywhere. These girls are not guaranteed a 4 year ride. It is a year by year determination. There would have to be some bad actions on the part of the student to lose the scholarship. I don't think coaches take monies away from a player if they are not infracting and are continuing to give to the program.
Anonymous
Tue Mar 9 2010 16:05
What if an athlete does pick the school for the school and the new coach does not like or want them and wants his/her own players?
Anonymous
Tue Mar 9 2010 15:08
Anybody that knows anything about college ball should have prepared their players to pick a school not a coach. Coaches come and go, especially assistant coaches. Once a player is at this level, they have to shift and adjust their whole life. It is harder to be a college athlete than it is to work and go to school. You spend countless hours in the gym, on the road and in your spare time trying to get your classes to fit in the schedule. Most coaches out there are about their program. It is a business to them. Players who have played high level club will transition with little problems. In essence they are paid professionals. They are paid to represent that school, and their reward is the education. It is never promised that it is going to all be fun and games. Yes, if they don't engage they will lose their love for the game, but the player has to also keep things in perspective and the end goal.
Anonymous
Tue Mar 9 2010 13:31
Any updates/comments/rumors of who may be interviewing or threw their hat in? Anyone seen on campus? STeve Shondel change his mind?
Anonymous
Mon Mar 8 2010 12:15
Kansas: Former Ball State standout Todd Chamberlain has been named an assistant volleyball coach at Kansas University, coach Ray Bechard announced. Chamberlain comes to Kansas following a one-year stint as the volunteer assistant women's coach at the University of Kentucky. (posted 3/8/10)
Anonymous
Mon Mar 8 2010 10:08
Where do the new recruits stand with a new coach coming in? Don't coaches usually clean house after their schollies are honored and bring in their own? These poor girls seemed to be top notch. has anyone contacted them?
Anonymous
Mon Mar 8 2010 10:06
Why would Ball State want girls to come back cuz they did not like the coach? You abandon your team and then expect to come back with open arms? What if they do not like this coach? Why have so much uncertainity? You want to leave then leave and live with your choice. Time to grow up.
Anonymous
Sun Mar 7 2010 19:21
Hope TC hires a former men's player. To many great coaches that are former players out there to not hire one this time around.
Anonymous
Fri Mar 5 2010 18:16
Bring back Hernesman!!
Anonymous
Fri Mar 5 2010 15:39
What a cluster f
hang in there girls!
Marci Peniata is a great person.
and they say ..
you can't fall out of a hole.. so things can only get better
Red
Thu Mar 4 2010 15:52
With the talent Ball State has coming back (mixed in with the new recruits), there is NO reason why Ball State should not be a top contender for the MAC-West and MAC Title. I believe the Coach Boos had good intentions in coming to Ball State - he is a true student of the game and knows a great deal about the sport - however, he wasn't able to effectively communicate with his players. With Boos leaving now, I'm very excited about the future of Ball State Volleyball. The MAC will be wide open in 2010, and I hope Ball State pushes through and reclaims their spot ontop of the MAC.
Anonymous
Thu Mar 4 2010 15:30
You clearly do no know your sources because you seem to have forgotten the girls that quit in 2007 and 2008. There are at least 8 girls that have quit that I have counted. I know them personally as well. Probably better than you.....and the homesick comment is inaccurate.
Anonymous
Thu Mar 4 2010 14:17
8 to 9? Try 2 to 3. I can promise you what i said is correct and I can PROMISE you that my sources are EXTREMELY reliable (more than you might think). Leave these girls alone, NONE OF YOU know them. I do.
Anonymous
Thu Mar 4 2010 13:51
This is getting ridiculous. If you do not know anything about what happened behind the scenes then we should not be making any guesses about why these girls left or what they are doing. You can go out and say that they could not handle it here, but that fact that about 8 to 9 girls left with Boos coaching seems to me that it is not just that these girls were not tough enough.
Anonymous
Thu Mar 4 2010 11:30
First of all I am not an athlete and I do not have any kids who play/played. We seem to coddle these girls too much. And do you know why any of these girls left? Probably not but heard from a reliable source that one of the major players was homesick. Or maybe they were not playing their hearts out so they can oust the coach. Happens in the professional sports.
Anonymous
Thu Mar 4 2010 11:10
Hey Anonymous below me,

You obviously do not know anything about playing college athletics. In my situations, especially such as womens volleyball here at BSU, the coach can absolutely ruin the persons love for the game. You do even realize how much of an influence that a coach has on a player? They control how the player completely thinks about and plays the game. However, your ignorant mind seems to not understand that. To compare these girls with being unsuccessful in real life is absolutely ridiculous! It's the same ideal situation with "real life." Would you continue to work for a boss who hounds you and beats your mind to the ground? Yes, you'll take it for as long as you can, until you go look for another job. One that is more stable mentally. With the employer and the employee, it's a two road communication/interaction process, JUST LIKE COLLEGE SPORTS! Yea.. it may seem the girls are playing their hearts out and are giving it everything they've got, but do you think most of them love it? No, I can bet they probably don't. This is why I do not blame the current players who are transferring. They found another "job," one they can enjoy and love for what it is. Who can blame them? Definitly not you! Keep your comments to a minimal because it's QUITE OBVIOUS you know nothing about athletics (spare me the comeback "i played sports" comments), and the thought process that goes with it.

Better yet, put yourself in their shoes, play the game, and tell me if you could do better. 110% tells me...... you can't.







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