Dave Shondell has been at the helm of the Purdue Volleyball program for 21 years. When head volleyball coach Shondell entered the program over two decades ago, Purdue had lost 37 of their prior 40 matches.
Shondell was raised in Muncie, Indiana and grew up in a volleyball family. Shondells father, Don Shondell, compiled a 769-280-6 career record at Ball State University. Dave Shondell continued the Shondell dynasty 115 miles west across the state at Purdue. As of today, Shondell’s collage career record is 458 wins for a 68% winning average in the competitive Division 1-A program. He began his career at Daleville High School in Daleville, Indiana, just outside Muncie. After his tenure there, he then moved to Muncie Central High School, in Muncie and then on to Purdue as head coach. Purdue is the only place Shondell coached College Volleyball and one of the very few head coaches in the country to go directly from High School coach to Division 1 Head Coach.
“It’s a good time to be at Purdue” said Shondell. Not only is top leadership at Purdue supportive of Volleyball and athletics in general, but Shondell is bullish about the team’s prospects for the upcoming season. Purdue is only losing one key starter and will come to the court next year with Second Team All-American Eva Hudson, Third Team All-American Chloe Chicoine and Raven Colvin, honorable mention All-American. This compliments the entire team which returns with considerable floor time experience as a group.
There are many changes in the NCAA taking place. Among the most notable is the Name, Image and Likeness money earned now by NCAA athletes nationwide. A Purdue Football Athlete on track to earn $250,000 for NIL compensation plays instead for Texas A&M for over $600,000. This is a headwind and tailwind for many colleges across the nation. Many NCAA changes observed today were brought on by lawsuits that are now restructuring the rules within the NCAA system.
Another change for Purdue Sports and Volleyball in particular, is the addition of Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA to the “Big 10” conference…which really, now, is the “Big 18.” This Big 10 growth is largely brought on by the success of the Big 10 Network revenue sharing system and its monetary success compared to other conferences, according to Shondell.
Shondell hopes to schedule 3 to 5 Volleyball matches next year in the Mackey Arena Complex which can seat 14,240 compared to the current Volleyball venue at Holloway Gymnasium which can only seat 2500 fans per match and is already sold out for next year’s season.
As much as readers and viewers may hear or read in the national press, Shondell does not anticipate changes in the program due to unionization or trans-athletes in the near future. “I’m 66 years old” said Shondell. But Coach indicated he is having too much fun to think about hanging things up. “It’s a good time to be at Purdue.”
