Todd Lowery, who won two national championships as the head coach of the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) volleyball team, was hired as the head coach of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team on Jan. 9, 2015.
UTRGV: All-time leader in wins (132), winning percentage (.559), home wins (61), home winning percentage (.693), road wins (43), road winning percentage (.443), neutral site wins (28), neutral site winning percentage (.549), conference wins (65), conference winning percentage (.570), conference home wins (38), conference home winning percentage (.691), conference road wins (26), and conference road winning percentage (.456).
2022: Earned WAC Coach of the Year honors … Led team to second WAC Championship … Coached team to second-straight postseason appearance and third in seven years, advancing to the NIVC Quarterfinals after hosting and winning two postseason matches for the first time in program history … Broke numerous program records, including wins (27), RPI (55), winning percentage (.794), conference winning percentage (.929), home wins (13), road wins (10), winning streak (11), total attendance (13,101), and average attendance (873), while tying the program record for conference wins (13), September wins (11) … Finished season tied for 14
th in the NCAA in wins and 26
th in winning percentage … UTRGV had highest RPI among NIVC participants … Welcomed five crowd of 1,100+ and six of 1,000+ for the first time in program history … Hosted WAC Tournament for second time in five years … Coached
Sarah Cruz to WAC Player of the Year and All-WAC First Team,
Luanna Emiliano to WAC Setter of the Year and All-WAC First Team, and
Luisa Silva Dos Santos to All-WAC Second Team honors.
2021: Led team to second NCAA Division I postseason appearance, visiting Arizona in the opening round of the NIVC … Coached UTRGV to winningest season in three years, going 17-10 (.630) and 8-4 (.667) in WAC play to finish second in WAC Southwest Division and earn No. 4 seed in WAC Tournament … Recorded winning record on the road (6-3) for second time at UTRGV and first time since 2018 … Coached
Sarah Cruz to All-WAC First Team and
Luanna Emiliano to All-WAC Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors … Developed two of the top freshmen in program history, including Emiliano, who ranked second in program history among freshmen in assists (1,057), third in digs (345) and tied for fifth in aces (37), and
Evana Ramos, who ranked second in digs (405).
2020-21: In pandemic-shortened season, led team to No. 4 seed in WAC Tournament … Coached
Ada Bulgur to WAC All-Freshman Team honors.
2019: In his fifth season at UTRGV, led team to first-ever victory over a Big 10 opponent, knocking off Maryland 3-2 … Also took sets over SEC (Texas A&M) and Pac-12 (Washington State) opponents for the first time … Hosted Power 5 opponent (Washington State) for second year in a row … Coached
Barbara Silva to All-WAC First Team and
Victoire Nama to All-Freshman Team honors.
2018: In his fourth season at UTRGV, led the team to its first-ever WAC Championship by finishing first with a 13-3 record. UTRGV broke a number or NCAA DI program records, including RPI (76), wins (22), winning percentage (.710), road wins (9), conference wins (13), conference winning percentage (.813) and conference road wins (6). UTRGV also tied records for home wins (11) and conference home wins (7). The success led UTRGV to draw a program record 9,786 fans, an average of a record 753 fans per match, including a record 2,176 fans for a match against Texas Tech. Lowery coached
Ragni Steen Knudsen to WAC Player of the Year and All-WAC First Team honors and
Alexandra Ecker and
Barbara Silva to All-WAC Second Team honors. Additionally, UTRGV earned a program record and WAC-high six WAC Volleyball Player of the Week awards.
2017: In his third season at UTRGV, Lowery led the team to its second-straight WAC Tournament Championship berth. UTRGV finished a program-best second in the WAC with a program record 10 WAC wins as part of a 17-win season that included eight sweeps. UTRGV also won a program record 11 home matches, including a 10-0 mark during the regular season. The success of the team led UTRGV to draw a program record 8,861 fans, including a record 1,634 fans for the WAC Tournament Championship Match. Lowery coached three All-WAC honorees, including first teamers
Ragni Steen Knudsen and
Bojana Mitrovic and second teamer
Barbara Silva.
2016: In his second season at UTRGV, Lowery led the team to its first NCAA Tournament berth by becoming the first No. 5 seed to win the WAC Tournament Championship. Lowery coached the team to its first winning season in 13 years, posting the best winning percentage (.600) and most wins (21) in NCAA DI program history. UTRGV opened the season with a signature win at Baylor, a team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, en route to the Baylor Invitational Tournament Championship. UTRGV went 2-1 during all four of its non-conference tournaments, finishing in second in the other three tournaments. The non-conference success was a big reason reason for UTRGV’s 10-win Septemeber, marking the second winningest month in NCAA DI program history. UTRGV punctuated non-conference play by knocking off NCAA Tournament participant Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the first time since 2007. UTRGV went on to win a program record seven WAC matches. UTRGV was one of just four teams in the NCAA Tournament with three players averaging at least three kills per set, including All-WAC honorees
Bojana Mitrovic and
Alisha Watson, the later of which was the WAC Tournament MVP, and
Ragni Steen Knudsen, who broke the NCAA DI program record for kills in a season. UTRGV put together the best blocking season in program history, as
Barbara Silva,
Alexandra Ecker and Mitrovic all surpassed the previous NCAA DI program record for block assists in a season. Silva also shattered the program records for blocks per set and total blocks. UTRGV showed strong passing ability throughout the season, as
Fatoumata Dacosta ranked first in the WAC and the state of Texas as well as 19
th in the nation in digs. As a team, UTRGV led the WAC and ranked in the top 20 in the nation in kills, assists, digs and blocks.
2015: In his first seasn at the helm of UTRGV, Lowey led the team to a 7-8 record in non-conference play before showing signs of serious improvement against WAC teams down the stretch. UTRGV won four of its final eight matches, including a sweep of defending WAC Tournament Champion CSU Bakersfield in the regular seasn and a sweep of third-seeded Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament Quarterfinals. Lowery coached
Bojana Mitrovic to All-WAC First Team honors, as she led the WAC in kills per set (program record 4.30), total kills (program record 460), points per set (4.82) and total points (515.5) while ranking 10
th in total digs (253). He also developed
Alexandra Ecker into the best freshman hitter in program history (.285) and
Dubravka Vukoja into one of the best setters, as she averaged 9.16 assists per set, the sixth-highest single-season total in program history. Both Ecker and Vukoja earned All-WAC Freshman Team honors.
Career: Lowery was the head coach at National American University (NAU) from 2002-08 and UTB from 2009-14. During that time, he went 416-36 (.920) to go with four NAIA national championships (2002, 2006, 2011, and 2013). His team went 211-22 (.906) at NAU, including 41-0 records in 2002 and 2006, and 205-14 (.936) at UTB, including a 37-0 record in 2013.
In 2014, Lowery led UTB to a 34-5 record and the No. 2 ranking in the nation after reaching the national championship match.
His student-athletes have included 31 NAIA All-Americans, three NAIA National Players of the Year, six Region III MVPs, and six Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) MVPs. His teams have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher nine times.
Lowery has racked up the personal accolades as well, earning the 2006 NAIA National Coach of the Year award, two NAIA National Tournament Coach of the Year awards (2006 and 2011), 12 regional coach of the year awards (2002-07 and 2009-14), six RRAC Coach of the Year awards (2009-14), and one South Dakota Associate Press Coach of the Year award (2002).
Lowery earned his Master of Education degree in Education Administration in 2002 from Chadron State. He completed his Bachelor of Education in Physical Education with a Minor in Athletic Coaching, Chemistry, and Health and Wellness at Black Hills State in 2000.
Lowery resides in the Rio Grande Valley with his wife, Missy, and their sons, Braxton and Jordan.
| Year |
School |
Record |
Conference |
Postseason |
| 2022 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
27-7 (.794) |
13-1 (.929) |
NIVC Quarterfinals |
| 2021 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
17-11 (.607) |
8-4 (.667) |
NIVC First Round |
| 2020-21 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
2-15 (.118) |
2-12 (.143) |
|
| 2019 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
14-17 (.452) |
8-8 (.500) |
|
| 2018 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
22-9 (.710) |
13-3 (.813) |
|
| 2017 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
17-12 (.586) |
13-3 (.813) |
|
| 2016 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
21-14 (.600) |
7-7 (.500) |
NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2015 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
12-19 (.387) |
4-10 (.286) |
|
| 2014 |
The University of Texas at Brownsville |
34-5 (.872) |
13-0 (1.000) |
NAIA Runners Up |
| 2013 |
The University of Texas at Brownsville |
37-0 (1.000) |
12-0 (1.000) |
NAIA National Champions |
| 2012 |
The University of Texas at Brownsville |
30-2 (.938) |
10-0 (1.000) |
NAIA Semifinals |
| 2011 |
The University of Texas at Brownsville |
32-2 (.941) |
9-0 (1.000) |
NAIA National Champions |
| 2010 |
The University of Texas at Brownsville |
38-2 (.950) |
14-0 (1.000) |
NAIA Semifinals |
| 2009 |
The University of Texas at Brownsville |
34-3 (.919) |
17-0 (1.000) |
NAIA Quarterfinals |
| 2007 |
National American University |
26-11 (.703) |
|
|
| 2006 |
National American University |
41-0 (1.000) |
|
NAIA National Champions |
| 2005 |
National American University |
33-3 (.919) |
|
|
| 2004 |
National American University |
31-5 (.861) |
|
|
| 2003 |
National American University |
39-3 (.929) |
|
|
| 2002 |
National American University |
41-0 (1.000) |
|
NAIA National Champions |
| TOTALS (688 Matches) |
|
548-140 (.797) |
150-49 (.754) |
Four NAIA National Championships |
