Dr. Taras ?Terry? Liskevych Announces Retirement
May 10, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
CORVALLIS -- Oregon State women's volleyball head coach Dr. Taras (Terry) Liskevych, the former head coach of the USA National Women's Team and Beavers coach for the past 11 years, has announced his retirement effective prior to the 2016 season.
OSU's all-time leader in wins, Liskevych led the program to new heights on and off the court, highlighted by a remarkable run to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2014. The Beavers ended the '14 season with 21 wins (third most in school history in the NCAA era), and earned their first two NCAA Tournament victories in school history. Liskevych was honored by being selected the 2014 Pac-12 and Regional Coach of the Year.
“I am forever grateful to Oregon State University for giving me an opportunity to build the volleyball program and lead a special group of student-athletes,” Liskevych said. “It has been a wonderful 11-plus years and I will miss my players, my coaching staff, the administrators, coaches and staff in the athletic department, as well as, the university in general.”
Liskevych's student-athletes off the court earned numerous Pac-12 and national honors in the classroom, including being selected to the Conference's academic team 84 times (league record 12 members last fall). The volleyball program earned perfect scores for the Academic Progress Rate (APR) and was the top achieving women's sports program at OSU academically multiple times.
"It is with great admiration that I thank Coach Liskevych for his contributions to not only our volleyball program, but to the entire Oregon State community," Beaver Vice President/Director of Athletics Todd Stansbury said. "With his leadership, the student-athletes in our program have represented the University in a first-class manner on the court, in the classroom and in the community. On behalf of the entire Oregon State family, we wish Coach Liskevych and his family continued success in their future endeavors."
Liskevych has also been instrumental in the promotion and development of youth volleyball throughout the country, including locally with the Willamette Classic that has brought over 5,000 people to the OSU campus each spring.
One of volleyball's most distinguished coaches, Liskevych's accomplishments are numerous. He coached the men's volleyball program at The Ohio State University (1974–1976) and twice took the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament Final Four in 1975 and '76. He posted a two-year record of 45–7 (.865 winning percentage).
He completed his Ph.D. at The Ohio State University in 1976 and that fall switched to the women's collegiate game at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., where he led the Tigers for nine seasons (1976–1985) and accumulated a record of 267-85 (.759). Pacific finished in the top five in the nation six of his nine years, going to five Final Fours. In 1983, he was selected the National Collegiate Coach of the Year. While at Pacific, Liskevych was a professor in the Physical Education and Recreation Department (1976–1981), co-founded the Sports Psychology graduate program, was an assistant athletic director supervising the women's programs, and oversaw athletic marketing.
In 1981, Liskevych co-founded the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association (now the AVCA – American Volleyball Coaches Association) and in 1988 he created and co-produced the first Collegiate Volleyball All-Star Game that was telecast by ESPN.
Liskevych began his international career as an assistant coach for the USA Women's National Team in 1975, and was appointed the head coach of the U.S. Women's Volleyball Team in 1985. By 1990 Liskevych had established the American team as a dominant force in international women's volleyball. He was recognized as the Coach of the Year by the Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) in 1995.
Liskevych left the USA program in 1996 and served on several FIVB committees (1998-2001) and spent time as a consultant for the Australian National Volleyball Teams (1995-2004). In 2003, he was part of the inaugural class inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame.
Liskevych worked in the private sector following his international coaching and administration roles as the president of Paragon Marketing (1997–2000), co-founder, vice president and president of ARK Digital Technologies (1998–2003), and subsequently as the co-founder and president of Total Sports Inc. (2003–2005). In 2005 he made his return to collegiate volleyball as the Beavers' head coach.
“It has been a privilege to coach hundreds of athletes and to work alongside some of the top volleyball coaches in the game,” Liskevych said. “Looking back, I have been very fortunate to have been involved in many exciting projects and businesses, but the coaching and mentoring of young people has always been the top motivator for me to come to work every day.”
Liskevych, who owns 392 career collegiate victories, and his family have maintained a residence in the San Diego area where he will continue his involvement in the sport by serving as a mentor for coaches for the advancement of volleyball.
Beavers associate head coach Mark Barnard, who has been part of Liskevych staff since his hire in 2005, will serve as the interim head coach while a national search is conducted by OSU officials to fill the vacancy.
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