University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Women's Volleyball
- Title:
- Head Volleyball Coach
- Email:
- Lyndsey.Oates@unco.edu
- Phone:
- 970.351.1719
2019 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year: Nov. 26, 2019
2014 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year: Nov. 28, 2014
2012 Representative to AVCA Board of Directors: Jan. 13, 2012
2011 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year: Nov. 29, 2011
2009 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year: Dec. 3, 2009
Lyndsey Oates was hired as Northern Colorado’s fourth head women’s volleyball coach on Aug. 8, 2005 — just three days prior to the start of that season’s fall camp. She had served the previous two seasons as a Bears assistant coach.
In the years since Oates, has led the Bears' march from an NCAA Division II power to Northern Colorado's first team to win a Division I conference postseason championship (2009) and first team to make an NCAA Division I tournament appearance (2009). As head coach, her teams have won 13 Big Sky Championships and earned seven bids to the NCAA tournament.
Oates, the 2009, 2011, 2014, 2019 and 2024 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year has coached 47 players to All-Big Sky Conference recognition at Northern Colorado, including leading 20 players to All-Big Sky First Team honors. Oates has coached a trio of Big Sky Conference MVPs in her tenure, with Kelley Arnold in 2011, Daisy Schultz in 2019 and Syd Cole in 2022 and 2024. Cole became the first AVCA All-American Selection in program history in 2022.
The Bears have not only succeeded on the court under Oates’ guidance but off it as well earning 13 straight AVCA Team Academic Awards for having a 3.30 team GPA.
Oates has led the Bears on overseas exhibition tours in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2022. The team’s trip through Eastern China in May 2008 was the first such overseas trip for any of Northern Colorado’s 19 varsity athletic programs. In 2012 the team traveled to Nicaragua and then to Europe in 2016 and 2022 including Iceland, Austria, Hungary, Italy & Greece.
“We've built something special here at UNC. We are at a point where we expect championships in our conference and expect to be in the NCAA Tournament,” says Oates, who grew up in nearby Eaton, Colo. “We have great community and administrative support. What more can you ask for?”
Oates, who came to the Bears as an assistant (2003-04) after spending the 2002 season as an assistant coach at Samford in Birmingham, Ala., was a prep star at Eaton (Colo.) High School. She played collegiate volleyball as an outside hitter at LSU in Baton Rouge, La., and earned a degree in mass communication in 2002.
Oates, who continued her education at Northern Colorado, where she completed her master’s degree in athletic administration in December 2004, married Mark Oates in 2012. The two welcomed their son Dylan, in 2013 and daughter, Rylee, in 2015.
Lyndsey Oates' Head Coaching Record
|
YEAR |
PROGRAM |
RECORD |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| 2005 | Northern Colorado | 14-16 (.467) | |
| 2006 | Northern Colorado | 13-16 (.448) | First year in the Big Sky Conference; advanced to BSC tourney |
| 2007 | Northern Colorado | 10-20 (.333) | Finished 8-8 in Big Sky, advanced to second-straight BSC tourney |
| 2008 | Northern Colorado | 17-10 (.630) | Started 6-0; Lost in BSC tourney semis. |
| 2009 | Northern Colorado | 21-12 (.636) | Swept Colorado; Won BSC tourney; Advanced to NCAA Tournament |
| 2010 | Northern Colorado | 24-7 (.774) | School Division I record for wins; won share of BSC regular-season title |
| 2011 | Northern Colorado | 22-9 (.710) | Won outright Big Sky Conference title; Advanced to NCAA Tournament |
| 2012 | Northern Colorado | 24-11 (.686) | Won BSC tourney; Advanced to NCAA Tournament |
| 2013 | Northern Colorado | 15-17 (.469) | Qualified for eight straight BSC Tournament; Defeated Baylor & South Florida |
| 2014 | Northern Colorado | 22-11 (.667) | Won BSC tourney; Advanced to NCAA Tournament, BSC Coach of the Year |
| 2015 | Northern Colorado | 14-16 (.467) | Qualified for 10th straight BSC Tournament; Placed two players on 1st team All-BSC |
| 2016 | Northern Colorado | 18-11 (.621) | Qualified for 11th straight BSC Tournament; Four players on All-BSC Team, one on 1st-team |
| 2017 | Northern Colorado | 14-16 (.467) | Qualified for 12th straight BSC Tournament; Two players on All-BSC Team |
| 2018 | Northern Colorado | 15-14 (.517) | Qualified for 13th straight BSC Tournament; Two players on All-BSC Team, Big Sky Newcomer of the Year |
| 2019 | Northern Colorado | 26-8 (.765) | Won BSC tourney; Advanced to NCAA Tournament; Four players on All-BSC Team. BSC Coach of the Year. BSC MVP |
| 2020 | Northern Colorado | 15-4 (.789) | Qualified for 15th straight BSC Tournament; BSC tourney runner-up |
| 2021 | Northern Colorado | 24-7 (.774) | Won BSC tourney; Advanced to NCAA Tournament |
| 2022 | Northern Colorado | 22-9 (.710) | Won BSC tourney; Advanced to NCAA Tournament |
| 2023 | Northern Colorado | 18-12 (.600) | Qualified for 18th straight BSC Tournament; Advanced to NIVC Second Round |
| 2024 | Northern Colorado | 28-8 (.778) | Won BSC Regular season Championship; Advanced to NIVC Fourth Round |
