Brian Schaefer has established UW-Oshkosh as a title contender in the WIAC and a force in the NCAA Division III.

In the fall of 2010, Brian Schaefer will enter his seventh season as the head women's volleyball coach at UW-Oshkosh after guiding the Titans to a 189-29 record, four WIAC titles and five appearances into the NCAA Division III Championship. His winning percentage of .867 currently places his third-best among active coaches in the NCAA regardless of Division.

In 2008 and 2009, the Titans had two of their finest seasons in team history when they produced a 40-3 and 39-3 record respectively. In 2008 UW-Oshkosh shared the WIAC regular season conference title and won a WIAC tournament title and in 2009 the Titans won the WIAC with an undefeated record, their first since the 1996 season.

Both years culminated with an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Championship after UW-Oshkosh won the Midwest Region championship. In 2008 the Titans finished in fifth-place and last season in third-place in the NCAA Division III Championship. UW-Oshkosh finished the 2008 campaign ranked sixth and the 2009 season third in the NCAA Division III according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The 2009 season also marked the first time the Titans were ranked number one in the AVCA, a ranking they held for six weeks.

For his efforts, Schaefer was named both the WIAC Coach of the Year and the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Schaefer also won both awards during the 2005 campaign.

In 2007, UW-Oshkosh advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship before losing in five sets to eventual national champion Washington University (Mo.). The Titans finished the season 32-6 and ranked 13th in the country. During the season UW-Oshkosh established a new NCAA Division III record with 57 consecutive sets won.

In 2006, the Titans won their second consecutive WIAC crown and made an appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship. UW-Oshkosh, which finished the season ranked 14th in the NCAA Division III with a 32-6 record, ended its’ season with a five-set loss to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.).

Schaefer’s first full year of coaching in 2005 saw him take a UW-Oshkosh squad that was picked to finish seventh in the league standings to a top-10 national ranking, a WIAC title and a place into the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship. The Titans finished the season with a 36-5 record as the 10th ranked team in the country.

Schaefer's tenure as head coach of the Titans began in 2004 when he replaced ledgendary coach Petersen for the final 16 matches of the season. Serving as UW-Oshkosh's interim head coach, Schaefer piloted the Titans to a 10-6 record and a top-25 national listing.

Prior to being named UW-Oshkosh’s interim head coach, Schaefer served as an assistant coach to Petersen for six years. During that time the Titans compiled a 143-58 record, competed in two NCAA Division III postseason tournaments and captured one WIAC title. UW-Oshkosh ranked 12th in the final NCAA Division III poll in 2000, ninth in 2001 and 21st in 2003.

During Schaefer's association with the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball program he has coached athletes to one NCAA Division III National Player of the Year, 14 NCAA Division III All-America, 20 NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region and 25 All-WIAC awards. In 2009, Christina Cahoon became the first libero to win the National Player of Year honor in any NCAA Division.

Schaefer, a Kaukauna High School graduate, received a bachelor’s degree in social work from UW-Oshkosh in 1996. He also earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from the school in 2002.

As a student, Schaefer was a member of the UW-Oshkosh men’s volleyball club team that won the 1996 National Intramural Recreation Sports Association (NIRSA) Division II National Championship. In 1999 and again in 2000, Schaefer helped the team to the Wisconsin Volleyball Conference (WVC) title. He was an all-league first team selection in 2001.

Schaefer has been the head coach of the UW-Oshkosh men's volleyball collegiate club team since the 2000 season, guiding the Titans to a 499-139-5 record. He has coached UW-Oshkosh to WVC titles in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2010 and Midwest Ten Conference championships in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Since the 2005 season, Schaefer has directed the Titans to a .887 winning percentage.

After finishing fifth at the NCCS Division I Championship in 2003 and 2004 and second in 2005, Schaefer directed UW-Oshkosh to two consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007 and another runner-up finish in 2009. UW-Oshkosh captured its fourth national title in program history when the Titans won the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Division III title in 2010.

During his tenure coaching the UW-Oshkosh men, Schaefer has coached 21 players to 31 collegiate club All-America and 83 All-WVC awards. He was named the 2005 collegiate club Division I National Coach of the Year.

- Written August 30, 2010 -