GBI Magazine

inside the office: dave shondell D ave Shondell finally succumbed. The leader of arguably Purdue's most successful program, the 10th-year coach got fitted for a walking boot to alleviate some Achilles' pain on the same day as our photo shoot. Still, he welcomed visitors into his office, which has a window overlooking the atrium area with the "Motion P" logo in the renovated Mackey Arena. There are two framed sports pages from the Lafayette Journal & Courier in Shondell's office, but this one is his favorite. It's after Purdue beat No. 1 Florida in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. It only took about an hour for the sweep of the Gators, coached by former Boilermaker Mary Wise. "I felt all along we were a better team, even before the Tournament was drawn," Shondell said. "I knew they were going to be No. 1. I was hoping we would be 16 because that was a matchup that I felt really good about. … It was huge because we'd never beaten a No. 1 ranked team. It was huge because it was in the NCAA Tournament and it got us to the Elite 8, where we'd never been before since they went to 64 teams. So it was fun." Six glass trophies emblazoned with "25/85" sit on an end table next to the couch in Shondell's office. They signify accomplishing athletic director Morgan Burke's aspiration of having programs that not only are successful athletically (ranking among the top 25 in the country) but also academically (graduating high percentages of athletes). Shondell said he's graduated 100 percent of his athletes during his time at Purdue."(The trophies are) something we feel pretty good about," he said. "I think that's an indication that our program is doing what you're supposed to do at the college level, have good students and good athletes." Shondell's office is littered with volleyballs signifying major accomplishments, including on this table, which has the latest successes. "I don't think a lot of people are even aware that we've been to the Sweet 16 in six of the last eight years," Shondell said. Other than the NCAA Tournament balls, there's another stamped with the No. 200, the milestone victory Shondell reached in September. "I'm proud of the fact our program is successful. That's a program ball," he said. "All of our coaches have a smaller ball (that's similar). One thing you find out as a head coach is you're an integral part of it, but you're really kind of a small part of it. I'm a good recruiter, and I'm a good coach, but it takes so many facets and that's why I think we're going to be successful at Purdue because the university has provided us with what we need to be successful. Our facilities are unbelievable." In a picture snapped in either Shondell's first or second season as Purdue's coach, he's joined by the Boilermakers' first volleyball coach, Carol Dewey. Dewey won 469 matches while coaching Purdue from 1975-1994. "At first, she wasn't necessarily real excited about Purdue hiring a high school coach to come in and run the program she built," Shondell said. "But she's been great ever since I've been here. I knew because they had success before, there would be potential to have success again." Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 5com

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