Hall of Fame
From the 2010 Hall of Fame program:
With a career that has seen both collegiate and international success, and as a leader of a decorated program that has won national championships and produced many all-time greats, Marv Dunphy is synonymous with the sport of men’s volleyball.
Heading into his 28th season as head coach of the Waves’ program, Dunphy holds a career record of 507-199 (.718) and is one of just five men’s coaches to reach the 500-win plateau. Four of his teams have won NCAA championships. He was the 2005 National Coach of the Year and is a three-time MPSF Coach of the Year.
Dunphy has had a long, successful coaching tenure with the U.S. National Team. The American squad maintained a No. 1 world ranking and compiled an impressive overall record of 197-31 (.864) during his time as head coach. Additionally, the team won every major international tournament: the 1985 World Cup, the 1986 World Championships, the 1987 Pan American Games and, most importantly, the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
Since then, he has been an assistant coach at the 2000 Olympics and a consultant coach at the 1996, 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Nineteen of his Pepperdine volleyball players have represented the U.S. National Team, with 10 taking part in the Olympics.
In 1994, Dunphy was formally recognized for his immense contribution to the sport, as he was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Mass. His 1988 Olympic Team was inducted in the fall of 1999. He was also put into the AVCA Hall of Fame in December 2009.
Among his honors from the FIVB (the International Volleyball Federation) are the 1987 Coach of the Year and the 1999 All-Time Great Coaches Award (contemporary division). Also in 1999, he was a finalist for the FIVB’s Greatest Coach of the Century Award.
A native of nearby Topanga Canyon, Dunphy was a middle blocker at Pepperdine during the sport’s formative years at the intercollegiate level and earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the university in 1974.
After completing his athletics eligibility, Dunphy continued his affiliation with the Pepperdine program, serving as an assistant coach to both Harlan Cohen and Burt DeGroot before assuming the head coaching duties in 1977. The following season, Dunphy led Pepperdine to its first-ever NCAA team championship, as the Waves upended UCLA in five games in Columbus, Ohio, to win the national crown.
Pepperdine also won titles under Dunphy in 1985 (the fabled “Malibu Roofing Company” squad), 1992 and 2005.
A popular instructor for Pepperdine University’s sports medicine department, Dunphy resides in the Decker Canyon area of Malibu with his wife Su. The couple has two daughters, Karen and Alexandra, and one son, Dijon. Alexandra is currently serving as the Pepperdine director of men’s volleyball operations. Marv and Su also have three grandchildren, Hunter, Shay and Trent.
