Sean Donahue is entering his 13th season as the head coach and 14th season as a member of the Hilltopper volleyball program. After showing his dedication and excellence in 2001 as the St. Edward’s assistant volleyball coach, when the Hilltoppers went 30-7 and were crowned Heartland Conference Champions, Donahue was hired as the head coach in 2002. In the 12 years since, he has guided the team to a 229-167 record, six Heartland Conference titles and four trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament, receiving the Coach of the Year award for the Heartland Conference in 2003, 2008 and 2009. During his time at the helm, he has coached four All-Americans, one of whom was an All-American for three years, and he has had players make the all-region team eight times, along with 32 all-conference players, two Heartland Conference Players of the Year, three Heartland Conference Liberos of the Year and two Heartland Conference Freshmen of the Year.
Donahue’s leadership on the court can only be matched by his leadership off the court. During his 12 years at the helm of the St. Edward’s University volleyball program, his teams have had an average team GPA of 3.44, and every player who has finished her eligibility has graduated, with one of his student-athletes earning the honor of valedictorian of the university in 2008. His players have been named to the Dean’s List 154 times, Commissioner’s Honor Roll 47 times and President’s Honor Roll 72 times. The team has earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award nine times.
Donahue is currently on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25 ranking committee and an AVCA mentor. He was previously a member of the AVCA Head Coaches Committee and NCAA Regional Advisory Committee and chair of the Heartland Conference Volleyball Coaches Committee.
Donahue picked up his first volleyball on a beach in 1991 and fell in love with the sport. In 1993, he enrolled at UT–Austin to study Kinesiology and play volleyball. From 1994 to 1996, Donahue played for the University of Texas men’s club volleyball team as an outside hitter. During this time, the team won two conference titles and advanced to National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Nationals three times, finishing fifth at Nationals in 1995.
In 1995, Donahue started working for Austin Junior Volleyball as an assistant director and coach, where he led both his first and second teams to the USA Junior Olympics for seven consecutive seasons. He earned his USA Volleyball Coaching Accreditation Program Level II coaching certification and was the recipient of USA Volleyball’s Robert L. Lindsay Meritorious Service Award in 1999.
Donahue earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, with a minor in Business, from UT–Austin in 1997. Currently, he resides in Austin with his wife, Shannon, and son Chance.
