Bowling Green State University Athletics
Van De Walle Receives Award From USA Volleyball
May 18, 2007 | Volleyball
May 18, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Head Coach Denise Van De Walle has been chosen to receive the George J. Fisher Leader in Volleyball award according to the national governing body, USA Volleyball.
Van De Walle will be presented the award on May 24th at the Dorothy C. Boyce Annual Awards and Recognition Banquet in Austin, Texas. The George J. Fisher award is named in the honor of the first president of USA Volleyball and a founding member of the USVBA.
"I am truly honored and blessed to receive this award," said Van De Walle. "It means a lot to me that USA Volleyball is putting me in the same category with some of the all-time great people of our sport. I'm looking forward to having my parents there in Austin when I get the award. It really hasn't hit me yet, but I'm sure once I'm there it will sink in."
"It's great to see Coach Van De Walle's contributions to volleyball being recognized by a national organization," said BGSU Athletic Director Greg Christopher. "I am very proud to have her as a part of the Falcon family. Coach Van De Walle exemplifies exactly what it means to be a Falcon, leading her team to excel on both the volleyball court and in the classroom over the last 24 years."
Courtesy of USA Volleyball
Denise Van De Walle has led the Bowling Green State University women's volleyball program for the past 24 years. She also has international experience serving as an assistant coach on the U.S. Women's National Sitting Team since February 2003.
Since joining BGSU, Van De Walle has built a highly competitive program that ranks as one of the best in the MAC and the midwest, both on and off the court. Van De Walle has manufactured an overall record of 441-303 (.593) and has led the Brown and Orange to a winning season in 17 of the last 21 years, including 11 seasons of 20-plus wins and a 30-win campaign in 1992. Her 441 overall wins since assuming the helm are the most of any conference coach.
Van De Walle has been chosen by her peers as MAC "Coach of the Year" on four occasions, receiving outright honors in 1986 and 1989, while sharing the award in 1987 and 1992. The Falcons soared under Van De Walle's leadership in the 1990s, earning three national postseason berths.
In May of 2001, Van De Walle was named President of the American Volleyball Coaches Association and held the position through December 2001. She also has sat on the Board of Directors for the AVCA and USA Volleyball.
As a member of the U.S. Women's Sitting Team coaching staff, Van De Walle was at the very first team tryout. She has attended every international event the team has competed in since 2003. She was part of the coaching staff at the 2003 ParaPan American Games in which the team won the gold medal and qualified for the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. She helped the team to a Bronze Medal in Athens. Van De Walle has made two trips to Netherlands with the team, first as part of a friendship tournament in May 2004 prior to the Paralympics, then the World Championships in June 2006.
