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The Colorado State women's volleyball program has become synonymous with consistent winning under the guidance and tutelage of Head Coach Tom Hilbert, who enters his 13th season with the Rams and his 21st overall as a collegiate coach. With six Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year awards to his credit, in the league's 10-year existence, it is clear why Hilbert's program has risen to the top of the MWC and become a stalwart on the national stage as a perennial Top 25 program. Under Hilbert, who was inducted in the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame as the Hall of Honor recipient in 2006, the Rams have developed into one of the top programs in the nation, qualifying for the NCAA tournament for 14 consecutive years. The streak is a school record for consecutive postseason appearances in any sport. A deeper look inside Hilbert's coaching record reveals some remarkable achievements. Hilbert has amassed a 125-23 record in Mountain West Conference play and has led the Rams to six regular-season conference titles. He ranks 10th among active Division I head coaches in winning percentage (.761), and last October distinguished himself as the winningest coach in CSU annals, surpassing the 300-win mark as a Ram and moving ahead of Rich Feller, who won 299 matches from 1983-96. Hilbert has coached five different players to AVCA All-America honors, and one to Volleyball Magazine All-America. While at CSU, Hilbert has an overall record of 307-79 (.795), and is 481-151 (.761) overall in 20 seasons as a head coach. He has led his teams to 20 or more wins every season since 1992 - a span of 17 straight years - with the 1999 Rams setting the school's single-season record for winning percentage after going 30-3 (.909). Before coming to Colorado State, Hilbert led Idaho to the Eastern Division title in 1996 (its first season in the Big West), and in the Big Sky Conference his teams won either the regular season or the tournament championship from 1992-95. Hilbert accumulated a 174-72 (.707) record at Idaho. He coached the Big Sky's only All-American in Mindy Rice. Hilbert also guided Idaho to its first national ranking and the Vandals were the first Big Sky institution to ever be nationally ranked. Prior to Idaho, Hilbert spent five seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma, from 1984-88. A native of Norman, Okla., Hilbert earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing from OU in 1984. He also received a master's in sports and recreation management from Idaho in 1993. Hilbert and wife Leslie have been married for 21 years, live in Fort Collins and have one daughter, Myles, who will be 9 in September.
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