COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech volleyball coach John
Blair has announced he is stepping down from his position at the
helm of the Golden Eagle program.
Blair’s retirement comes following his 10th season at the
school and 29th year overall as a collegiate head coach,
and wraps up a career that included Ohio Valley Conference regular
season and conference championships, numerous accolades and awards
for his players both on the court and in the classroom, and 381
career victories.
A national search will begin immediately to find Tech’s next
head coach, according to Director of Athletics Mark Wilson.
“John Blair has been a loyal, valued member of our
department for the past 10 years and he is a respected
colleague,” Wilson said. “I wish him all the best in
his future pursuits and thank him for his dedicated service to
Tennessee Tech volleyball and the TTU Athletics Department.
“John is a high-quality person who works extremely
hard,” Wilson added. “His student-athletes always
strove for success, both in the classroom and on the court, and the
results are a reflection on John’s dedication to his program
and his players.”
Blair has constantly worked to develop his student-athletes, both
as players and in their personal lives.
“The beauty of the job is to see them come in as freshmen
and leave as young adults,” Blair said. “I thank all
the players through the years for their hard work and dedication to
make the program what it is. It’s an honor to have coached
them, and it’s now an even greater honor to consider them my
friends.
A native of Knoxville, Blair returned to his home state in
2003.
“I want to thank Diane Ledbetter-Smith, who was chief in my
coming to Tennessee Tech,” he said. “Being a Tennessee
native, it was a lifelong ambition to get back into my home state,
and through good fortune I was able to do that.
“I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the support
staff who have made these 10 seasons seem like I just got
here,” Blair said. “I want to thank (University
Presidents) Dr. Bell and Dr. Oldham, Mark Wilson, all the
administrators and faculty, and my assistant coaches for 10 great
years,” he said.
“I am confident that the administration will pursue the
right person to lead this program forward in the years to
come,” he said.
The third-winningest coach in program history, Blair’s players have amassed numerous awards including 12 all-OVC awards, five OVC all-tournament awards, seven all-OVC Newcomer awards, as well as an OVC Player of the Year, two Defensive Players of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards.
Blair’s players have also excelled in the classroom as
they have earned one Academic All-American and four Academic
All-District awards as well as 71 OVC Commissioner’s Honor
Roll awards during his time at TTU.
Blair coached at the University of Mississippi for 16 years prior
to coming to Tennessee Tech. Posting the most wins in school
history, Blair coached six all-Southeastern Conference players at
Ole Miss. His Rebel teams earned 12 SEC tournament appearances in
his 16 seasons.
In his tenure at Mississippi, he had an impressive 70 SEC Academic
Honor Roll students and four earned Academic All-America
Honors.
Blair served three seasons as assistant volleyball coach at the
University of Tennessee. While with the Lady Vols, he helped UT
capture SEC titles in 1983 and 1984.
Blair, 61, also served as head coach at the University of Illinois
from 1980 through 1982, after spending one season as an assistant
coach for the Illini. His 1980 Illinois team participated in the
AIAW National Championship Tournament.
A native of Knoxville, Blair earned his bachelor’s degree
in education from Tennessee in 1976. He played volleyball for the
Volunteers under coach Bud Fields, who led the team to a
ninth-place finish in the open nationals in 1976. He competed in
the World University Games in 1973 and was a member of the United
States training team for the Pan Am Games in 1974 and the U.S.
National training team in 1975.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Blair coached
the South men’s team to a gold medal in 1986 and a bronze
medal in 1987 in the U.S. Olympic Festival and led the Texas Stars
USA Volleyball team to the 1996 championship in the men’s
master’s division.