Hall of Fame
From the 2009 Hall of Fame program:
Though he played men’s volleyball at Pepperdine for just one season, Bob Ctvrtlik was the National Player of the Year on perhaps the best Waves squad in the program’s history. He has then gone on to even more amazing success in the world of sport and is one of the most influential leaders in the Olympic world.
Ctvrtlik hailed from Long Beach, Calif., and attended Long Beach Wilson High School. He spent time at Long Beach City College and Long Beach State before transferring into Pepperdine for the 1983-84 school year. After having to sit out his first season here, he led the 1985 squad with 424 kills, 103 digs and 27 service aces, helping the Waves to a 25-2 record, an undefeated record in the SCIVA and a berth in the NCAA Championships. Pepperdine would beat Ball State in the semifinals and USC in the final at Pauley Pavilion for the school’s second NCAA championship, and Ctvrtlik would be named MVP of the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to his National Player of the Year award, he earned All-American honors for the second time (he was an honorable mention recipient at Long Beach State) and was an All-SCIVA first teamer.
Head coach Marv Dunphy would then take a sabbatical to lead the U.S. National Team, and Ctvrtlik would forego his senior season to follow Dunphy into international play. Ctvrtlik had a stellar career with the U.S. squad that lasted more than a decade, highlighted by the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, where he helped the U.S. to victory in the gold-medal match over the Soviet Union. He won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and also competed with the 1996 U.S. Olympic team in Atlanta. He was the captain of the squad from 1994-96, which included his final appearance at the Olympics.
Ctvrtlik was heralded as one of the best serve receivers ever in the sport. In 1995, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) named him the Best Player in the World. He was also chosen as the Outstanding Defensive Player at the 1986 World Championships, which the U.S. squad won, and the Outstanding Passer at the 1988 Olympics.
Additionally, he had a fine career playing both professional indoor volleyball in Europe in such places as Italy and Croatia, and in beach volleyball, where he was one of the top stars on the professional four-man circuit. He earned a coveted “AAA” beach rating on the two-man circuit.
His illustrious career earned him a spot in the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Ctvrtlik now serves as a U.S. representative on the International Olympic Committee and is a First Vice President with the U.S. Olympic Committee. He has been a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, the link between active athletes and the IOC, since 1996. He has also worked on the IOC Reform Commission, the IOC Environmental Commission, the IOC Marketing Commission and working groups for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and 2004 and 2008 Olympic Summer Games. He is a founding board member of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
He and his wife, Cosette, have three children (Josef, Erik and Matthew), and they reside on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, Calif. Ctvrtlik graduated from Pepperdine with a degree in business administration in 1985.
