[Mick]

Lots of things, I would imagine, starting with a better income/expense ratio. They're an excellent team, 24-10 last year, so there's some potential upside. And my guess is no real future with Stanford MVB.

And remember, women's volleyball is basically like football for the men. Big 10 VB in general and UMinn VB is hugely popular, routinely drawing more than 4k and 5k attendees.

Good points. It just seems the MVB coaching staff has had a lot of turnover in the last 2-1/2 seasons. Ken and Daniel left their assistant positions after 2023, then volunteer asst Matt Houlihan after 2024 (and AFAIK, was not replaced).  Now, Wickens' departure right after the start of the season leaves us in a bit of a lurch with just Kosty and Tyler Hammond - here's hoping we can get a good replacement for Wickens in place before too very long.

I feel for any non-revenue sport, particularly in times of declining resources. Houlihan (who has wife & kids) is the full-time head of Bay to Bay VC, source of 1/2 dozen Stanford volleyball players, including Moses Wagner, Brandon Williams, Jarod Keller, Nathaniel Clifton, Chris Muscat, Theoren Brouilette, Ryan DuRoss, Luke McFall, Matt Aiello and others who were recruited by Stanford but either signed elsewhere or didn't play on the varsity team. The non-revenue sports just can't pay enough, so they can't keep good people. I'm surprised they kept Shibuya as long as they did (he coached senior teams at Bay to Bay for years and recruited my son).

[Mick]

Lots of things, I would imagine, starting with a better income/expense ratio. They're an excellent team, 24-10 last year, so there's some potential upside. And my guess is no real future with Stanford MVB.

And remember, women's volleyball is basically like football for the men. Big 10 VB in general and UMinn VB is hugely popular, routinely drawing more than 4k and 5k attendees.

Good points. It just seems the MVB coaching staff has had a lot of turnover in the last 2-1/2 seasons. Ken and Daniel left their assistant positions after 2023, then volunteer asst Matt Houlihan after 2024 (and AFAIK, was not replaced).  Now, Wickens' departure right after the start of the season leaves us in a bit of a lurch with just Kosty and Tyler Hammond - here's hoping we can get a good replacement for Wickens in place before too very long.

I feel for any non-revenue sport, particularly in times of declining resources. Houlihan (who has wife & kids) is the full-time head of Bay to Bay VC, source of 1/2 dozen Stanford volleyball players, including Moses Wagner, Brandon Williams, Jarod Keller, Nathaniel Clifton, Chris Muscat, Theoren Brouilette, Ryan DuRoss, Luke McFall, Matt Aiello and others who were recruited by Stanford but either signed elsewhere or didn't play on the varsity team. The non-revenue sports just can't pay enough, so they can't keep good people. I'm surprised they kept Shibuya as long as they did (he coached senior teams at Bay to Bay for years and recruited my son).