STEVE AIRD

Head Coach

Indiana volleyball head coach Steve Aird completed his sixth year in Bloomington in 2023, helping lead the Hoosiers to one of the best seasons in program history.

A two-time NCAA champion as an assistant coach at Penn State, Aird is an elite recruiter and has brought new energy into the Indiana volleyball program. He has revolutionized fan support for the program in his six seasons and has turned the Hoosiers into one of the nation’s most fun teams to watch.

He helped commit the program's first two Under Armour All-Americans in Emily Fitzner (2019) and Ramsey Gary (2022) and has proven to be an outstanding developer of talent at the collegiate level, landing the program’s first top-15 recruiting class in 2020.

2023 – 21-12 (11-9)

6th Season at Indiana

The 2023 campaign was massive in many ways with IU matching a program record for regular season wins (21) while also finishing in the top half of the conference for the first time since 1999. The Hoosiers won 11 Big Ten games in 2023, the most since 1999. IU finished in a tie for sixth with Illinois in the conference standings, the highest finish since the Big Ten began a new era of expansion in 2011.

Sparked by an electric product on the court, IU saw a massive rise in attendance in 2023. The Hoosiers had two sellouts of Wilkinson Hall and twice broke the program attendance record in the new gym. IU packed 2,725 fans into a home match to watch the Hoosiers beat No. 15 Purdue for the first time since 2012.

Led by unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection and star junior setter Camryn Haworth, IU finished with the fourth-best hitting percentage in program history (.237). Five different players tallied 200+ kills including sophomore outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles (344) and graduate student middle blocker Kaley Rammelsberg (281).

Haworth led the Big Ten in assists (1,247) and led the Big Ten and NCAA in service aces (73), the most in a single season at IU since volleyball became a NCAA sponsored sport in 1981. She was the only power five player with multiple triple-doubles and finished the season with 10.22 assists per set.

Freshman libero Ramsey Gary, one of Aird’s biggest recruits in his head-coaching career, broke both IU’s freshman and all-time single season digs record (530). She was a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and earned a nod as a Second Team All-Big Ten selection.

2022 – 16-16 (9-11)

5th Season at Indiana

During the 2022 campaign, Aird helped lead the Hoosiers to a 16-16 record including a 9-11 finish in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers won nine conference matches for the first time since 2010 and finished eighth in the Big Ten. At the time, it was the highest team's finish since the conference expanded to 14 teams.

IU beat No. 5 Ohio State and No. 25 Michigan on the road, marking the first season in program history with multiple road victories over ranked teams. The win over the Buckeyes was the first over a top-five team on the road in program history and the second-highest ranked win in the team's history.

An average of 1,366 fans came to watch IU matches in Wilkinson Hall in 2022 and IU beat four conference teams on the road for the first time since 2009.

Under his guidance, setter Camryn Haworth earned First Team All-Big Ten Honors, the first Hoosier to do so since 2010. She was also named AVCA Northeast All-Region Honorable Mention and earned the title of AVCA National Player of the Week on Nov. 22.

Haworth and libero Paula Cerame both earned Big Ten Weekly Honors on Nov. 21 following a weekend that saw IU beat Northwestern and No. 5 Ohio State. During that weekend, Haworth also recorded the program's first triple-double since 2001.

Cerame broke the program's then-single season record for digs in a Big Ten season with 353. She also became the third athlete to score 500+ digs in a single season.

The Hoosiers started five athletes with freshman or sophomore eligibility in the 2022 campaign and returned six starters and 12 athletes for the 2023 season.

2021 – 10-22 (4-16)  

4th Season at Indiana

During the 2021 campaign, the Hoosiers returned to a complete schedule following the shortened COVID-19 season of 2020-2021. Over the course of the 2021 calendar year, the Hoosiers played in 52 total matches. Aird helped guide IU to a season sweep of Rutgers in 2021.

The campaign also featured Breana Edwards breaking the 1,000-kill mark for her IU career and moving into 12th (1,267) on IU’s all-time career list.

The 2021 team featured impact performances from freshmen Camryn Haworth and Mady Saris as well as transfers Paula Cerame and Kaley Rammelsberg.

2020-21 – 5-15 (5-15)

3rd Season at Indiana

In 2020-2021, the Hoosiers played a condensed, conference-only schedule in front of only family members as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020-2021 season featured a freshmen class, which ranked No. 15 in the country, the highest ranked class in program history. It included the Hoosiers second highest ranked individual recruit in program history in No. 32 Tommi Stockham and two Under Armour All-Americans.

Indiana’s roster in 2020-2021 featured nine total freshmen as the Hoosiers battled to a 5-15 record against the nation’s best volleyball conference.

2019 – 14-19 (3-17)

2nd Season at Indiana

In the 2019 season, Aird guided the Hoosiers to an 11-2 start in non-conference action, including a win over No. 15 Kentucky in Lexington. The win over UK was the Hoosiers first win against Kentucky since 1996 and first ranked non-conference win since 1998.

Aird continued to build momentum for the Hoosiers as the program set an average attendance record of 1,809 fans per match, which ranked in the top-15 among all NCAA DI programs.

The 2019 campaign saw Aird help transition the Hoosiers into the $17-million-dollar, state-of-the-art Wilkinson Hall which houses the volleyball and wrestling teams.

2018 – 16-15 (7-13)

1st Season at Indiana

His first season in Bloomington saw Aird led the Hoosiers to an overall record of 16-15 and 7-13 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers swept Ohio State for the first time since 2008 and picked up a win over No. 14 Michigan.

Under Aird, junior middle blocker Deyshia Lofton earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors and sophomore libero Bayli Lebo set a then-Indiana record for single season digs with 525. The Hoosiers saw record crowds turnout for their matches and set a new average season attendance record for University Gym.

Maryland (2014-17)

4 Seasons

Before Indiana, Aird served as the head coach at Maryland from 2014-2017.

His time at Maryland saw him inherit 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. His 18 wins in 2017 represented the program’s most since 2010, while the seven conference victories were the most since joining the Big Ten.

Notable wins that fall came against eventual Elite Eight participant USC as well as NCAA qualifier Purdue.

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.

As an Assistant

10 Seasons

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.

Personal and Family

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.

Upon Being Hired at Indiana

“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.”