Buffalo, N.Y. - Canisius College director of athletics Bill Maher has announced that volleyball coach Cathy Hummel has signed a multi-year contract extension through the 2014-15 academic year.
"Cathy has built our volleyball program into a consistent contender in the MAAC," Maher said. "Her players succeed athletically and academically and are great representatives of Canisius College. We are excited about the future of Canisius volleyball as it works toward the program's first conference championship."
Hummel, who is in her 12th season as head coach of the Golden Griffins, is the winningest coach in program history with 148 career victories. Canisius also has 67 victories against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents since the 2006 season - the third-highest total in the conference. Canisius is one of three schools to win double-digit matches in conference play in five of the last six years.
"I would like to thank Bill Maher, Traci Murphy and President John Hurley for this opportunity. I am lucky to work at a school with great student-athletes and in a city and athletic department my family considers home," Hummel said. "We are still working toward the ultimate goal of winning a MAAC Championship, and I feel this program is at a place where we can compete at that level each and every season."
The longest-tenured coach in the conference, Hummel has led Canisius to the semifinals of the MAAC Championship in four of the last six seasons. That stretch started when Hummel directed Canisius to a school-record 22 wins during the 2006 season, guiding the Blue and Gold to the team's first appearance in the MAAC Volleyball Championship semifinal round in more than 10 years.
A two-time MAAC Coach of the Year, Hummel earned the second MAAC Coach of the Year award of her career following the 2008 season when she led the Golden Griffins to a 17-11 overall record and 12-6 record in the MAAC, qualifying for a four-team MAAC Tournament for the first time since 1993. She won her first MAAC Coach of the Year honor after the Griffs posted a 16-13 record in 2003, the program's first winning season in 10 years.
Since becoming the head coach on March 29, 2001, Hummel has recruited a number of players to Canisius who have been honored by the league for their play on the floor and their work in the classroom. Canisius has had 15 All-MAAC selections in the past nine seasons, the second-longest stretch in the conference. In 2010, Canisius won its first MAAC Offensive Player of the Year award and also earned the MAAC Libero of the Year award. The program has earned five MAAC Defensive Player/Libero of the Year awards in the last 10 years - tied for the most in the conference. Under Hummel, Canisius also has four MAAC All-Tournament Team picks, 11 preseason All-MAAC honorees and a total of 44 MAAC All-Academic selections.
Under Hummel, Canisius has received an NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program public recognition award three times. The public recognition awards are presented to the best academically performing teams that rank in the top 10 percent within their sport in the NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). All 21 seniors who have spent four years in the Canisius volleyball program have left the College with their undergraduate degrees.