Off the Block

The legacy of Hall of Fame retired coach Marv Dunphy will be on full display at every future Pepperdine home match.

The Pepperdine athletics department announced during the weekend that it will dedicate the court at the team’s home arena Firestone Fieldhouse in honor of Dunphy.

Dunphy retired following the 2017 season as one of the winningest coaches in college men’s volleyball history. In his 34 seasons as the team’s head coach, Dunphy had a 612-277 career record and led the Waves to four NCAA championship — with each title occurring in a different decade.

The Waves under Dunphy also ended 16 of the last 17 seasons in the top 10 of the national rankings.

Along with his college coaching accomplishments, Dunphy took a sabbatical from Pepperdine to serve as the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team from 1985-88. The United States in those four years won the 1985 World Cup, 1986 World Championship, the 1987 Pan American Games and won the gold medal a 1988 Olympics.

That Olympics was the first of seven Olympics featuring Dunphy on a coaching staff for USA Volleyball.

The Waves’ athletics department unveiled its decision to create the Marv Dunphy Volleyball Court at a Pepperdine men’s volleyball ceremony that had about 70 former and current players in attendance.

The newly named volleyball court will be commemorated with a display in the Firestone Fieldhouse. Pepperdine also announced it will have a public acknowledgement of Dunphy’s Hall of Fame career that will take place during a Waves’ home match in the upcoming season.

Dunphy is the second college men’s volleyball coach in recent years to have a court named in his honor. Fort Wayne renamed its court after Hall of Fame coach Annie Ball in his final season before retiring in 2015.