Steve Aird
Head Coach
Steve Aird
Head Coach
Indiana University Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass announced on Dec. 27, 2017, that Steve Aird is the new head volleyball coach at Indiana University. A two-time NCAA champion as an assistant coach at Penn State, Aird is an elite recruiter who has spent the last four seasons successfully turning around the Maryland program as its head coach.
“Being located in the middle of a volleyball hotbed and opening a new, state-of-the-art $17 million facility, it was important that Indiana University hire the right coach to lead our program into this exciting new era,” Glass said. “In Steve Aird we have found that person. He is an elite recruiter, a program-builder of the highest order, a great trainer and tactician, knows the conference well, connects with and graduates his students, and is regarded as one of the best young coaches in America. We are thrilled to welcome Steve and Brandy to the IU Athletics family.”
At Maryland, Aird inherited a program that not only went 13-19 and finished 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013, but was also preparing the join arguably the nation’s best volleyball conference – the Big Ten. After winning just 10 matches overall and three in the Big Ten in his debut season, Aird quickly turned the Terrapins’ fortunes around. This year’s 18 wins represented the program’s most since 2010, while the seven conference victories was easily the most since UM joined the Big Ten. Notable wins this fall came against eventual Elite Eight participant USC as well as NCAA qualifier Purdue.
“I am humbled and honored to accept the Head Coaching position at Indiana University. I believe Indiana Volleyball has a rightful place among the nation’s elite and we will work tirelessly to make that a reality,” Aird said. “I cannot thank Fred Glass and his staff enough for this opportunity and for their commitment to building an excellent program the right way. Brandy and I could not be more excited to be a part of the IU family and the Bloomington community.”
Among Aird’s greatest attributes is his ability to recruit. In 2016, Aird welcomed the nation’s 16th ranked recruiting class to College Park, Md., and he followed that up with the program’s first-ever top-10 class in 2017. That infusion of talent not only helped elevate Maryland in the Big Ten standings, but also created a level of excitement that had been lacking. Six of the program’s top-10 attendance marks came during Aird’s four-year stint.
Before taking over at Maryland, Aird enjoyed highly-successful assistant coaching stints at Penn State (2007, 2012-13), Cincinnati (2005-07) and Auburn (2002-05). At Penn State, he helped the Nittany Lions to NCAA titles in both 2007 and 2013 along with a Final Four berth in 2012.
In addition to his success in the coaching ranks, Aird also served as the President and CMO of Complete Athlete Inc., from 2007-12, where he helped train and develop youth volleyball players. Many of his players went on to play at the D-I level, including programs such as Penn State, Stanford, Washington, Florida and Tennessee.
A native of London, Ontario, Canada, Aird was a four-year member of Penn State’s men’s volleyball program from 1997-01. He was a two-year captain and helped the Nittany Lions to three appearances in the Final Four.
Aird, who earned his bachelor’s degree in Letters, Arts and Sciences from Penn State in 2001, is married to the former Brandy Wilson. The couple has two sons, Caelan and Padraic, and a daughter, Mackenzie.
