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In her eighth season as Butler's head coach, Sharon Clark has the Bulldogs primed for a run in the Horizon League in 2007. Clark has continued Butler's tradition of success by recruiting some of the top talent in the conference, with three members of the league's All-Newcomer Teams in the past two seasons, including 2006 member Porshia Allen. Last year proved to be a season of milestones for Clark, as the Bulldog mentor registered her 200th career victory with a thrilling 3-2 win over Evansville on Sept. 2 before notching her 100th Butler win in a 3-0 sweep at Youngstown State on Oct. 7. Clark now touts a 204-213 record in 14 seasons as a head coach and a 102-105 slate in seven seasons with Butler, including a 50-46 mark against league foes. The Bulldogs' .521 winning percentage in league play is especially impressive since the conference consistently features some of the strongest competition in the NCAA. A proven recruiter and developer of talent, Clark has coached a pair of All-Americans during her tenure, including two-time recipient Areal Bienemy, who was named as an AVCA All-America honorable mention selection in 2003 before repeating the honor in 2004. Additionally, Clark has coached nine All-Horizon League Team members and eight All-Newcomer Team honorees during her time at Butler. The Bulldogs advanced to the league tournament semifinals four times in Clark's seven seasons, including a break-out 2000 team which finished with an 18-12 record and a second-place finish at the league tournament in her inaugural season. The 2003 squad put together the most successful season under Clark with a 20-12 overall record, finishing the season ranked fourth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Midwest region and 55th nationally, according to RPI rankings. That campaign was followed by a 12-2 Horizon League mark in 2004, the best record since the 1997 season. Clark came to Butler after serving as the head coach at the University of California-Davis for six seasons. Her tenure with the Aggies was filled with success, as her teams averaged more than 16 wins per season and claimed two Northern California Athletic Conference titles to earn appearances in the NCAA Division II Championship. In addition, 90 percent of her student-athletes graduated, proving her commitment to both sides of the term "student-athlete." Clark racked up a 97-85 (.533) record in six years at UC-Davis. Of all her Aggie squads, the 1996 team was Clark's most successful group, finishing with a 21-11 overall record and a dominant 11-1 mark in league play. In the process, the Aggies won their second Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) title in three seasons and made a return trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Aggies' successful 1996 campaign earned Clark her second "Coach of the Year" honor from the NCAC. She was also honored as the Tachikara/AVCA Southwest Region "Coach of the Year," and was nominated for national coach of the year accolades. Clark began her head coaching career at Humboldt State in Arcata, Calif., where she spent a year on the Lumberjacks sidelines before moving to UC-Davis. Prior to that, she served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at her alma mater Cal State-Sacramento from 1990-92, helping the Hornets to a 41-6 record in 1990 and an NCAA Division II quarterfinals appearance. In its first NCAA Division I season, the team posted a 20-13 record and a trip to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. Clark's collegiate volleyball journey began at Cal State-Sacramento, where she played from 1985-88. Playing in 228 games over four years, she helped the Hornets to the NCAA Division II playoffs in each of her four seasons. In addition to her work on the college sidelines, Clark is involved with several committees and numerous NCAA educational programs. She serves as the Horizon League representative for the AVCA Head Coaches Committee, is a co-chair of the AVCA Minority Coaches Clinic and serves on the Butler University Human Resources and Organizational Development committee. She also sits on several national advisory boards and works as a Cadre with the USA Volleyball Coaching Accreditation Program (CAP), where she helps new coaches to become more educated and acclimated in the coaching field. Clark is a 2005 graduate of the NCAA's Women Coaches Academy, which was created to enhance the skills and perspectives of women coaches and to aid in the retention of women coaches in intercollegiate athletics. The program, just in its fourth year, included 26 coaches at Clark's June 2005 session at Emory University in Atlanta. A former winner of the NCAA Ethnic Minority Postgraduate Scholarship, Clark also co-founded Club Sacramento, a junior volleyball team, in 1985. She coached the team for eight years, including a sixth-place finish in the 1991 Junior Olympics. Last season, she was honored with the Sam Lacy Pioneer Award, presented by the sports task force of the National Association of Black Journalists, for her success and leadership as an NCAA head coach and member of the AVCA. In May 2007, she was recognized as just one of six recipients nationwide of the Rebecca Howard Star Award from USA Volleyball for demonstrating a successful commitment to diversity in the sport. Clark graduated with a Bachelor's of Science degree in physical education from California State-Sacramento in 1989 and received her master's degree in sports administration from her alma mater in 1994. She and her husband, Tim, have a son, Myles Oliver. |
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