Volleyball coach Mary Wise retires after 34 years at Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida women’s volleyball coach Mary Wise, who has the fourth-most wins in NCAA Division I history, announced her retirement Thursday.

Wise, 65, formally stepped down after a team meeting and ended a 34-year tenure in Gainesville during which she led the Gators to the NCAA tournament every season.

Florida made the Final Four eight times under Wise, including two runner-up finishes and won a league-leading 25 Southeastern Conference championships.

“This is such a special place, and there was never going to be an easy time to walk away,” Wise said in a statement. “But after 43 years in the arena, the time to step away is now. … I cannot wait to see what’s next for the sport at a view from my new seat.”

Wise has a 987-150 (.868) record at Florida and a 1,068-213 (.834) mark overall. She spent four years at Iowa State (1981-84) — at 21, she became the youngest head coach in Division I history at the time — before joining Kentucky as an assistant. She took over at Florida in 1991 and quickly turned the Gators into one of the most consistently successful programs in the country.

“Mary Wise is an icon at the University of Florida, in college athletics and in the volleyball community,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “… Mary’s 43-year journey in the profession is an impressive parade of remarkable successes and accomplishments.”

Her decision comes a week after Nebraska coach John Cook retired after four national championships over 25 seasons.

Wise is the fourth championship-winning coach at Florida to step down in the past four years, following women’s soccer coach Becky Burleigh (2021), men’s tennis coach Bryan Shelton (2023) and women’s tennis coach Roland Thornqvist (2024).