Cecile Reynaud, Ph.D.,
Senior Contributor

Dr. Cecile Reynaud was named head coach of the Florida State University volleyball team in 1976 and over the next 26 years helped make it a national contender.

She also served as President of the WeCOACH board of directors, an organization devoted to the recruitment, retention, and promotion of female coaches at all levels.

Reynaud compiled an impressive 635 wins, which placed her in an elite group of only eight active coaches with 600 wins during the time of her retirement in 2001. Her teams claimed six Metro Conference Championships, one ACC title, and competed in 10 NCAA Tournaments and three AIAW Tournaments, which was the governing body of women's athletics before 1982.

Reynaud was named Metro Conference Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1989, AVCA South Regional Coach of the Year in 1989, and Florida AIAW Coach of the Year in 1991. Reynaud also garnered ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1992 and 2000. In addition, she was named Florida Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Woman of the Year and South Region Coach of the Year while at FSU. In 1996, Reynaud received the prestigious George J. Fischer Volleyball Leader Award at the USA Volleyball meetings in recognition of her contributions to the sport of volleyball. In 2006, she was appointed to the AVCA Board of Directors for a second term and served 10 years. She chaired a commission of participant safety for USA Volleyball in 2010 and was on the Board of Directors for the Side-Out Foundation for eight years.

She has served in various national and international coaching and administrative positions with USA Volleyball and has served on the board of directors twice. She served as a commissioner of the U.S. Olympic Festivals for several years. She recently served a two-year term as the USA Volleyball Board Chair. She has coaching experience at the World University Games, as a Junior National Team Head Coach, in the USA Volleyball High-Performance Championships, and the FIVB World Grand Prix. She was the Deputy Competition Manager for Volleyball at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and served as the Head of Delegation for the USA Volleyball Women's Sitting Team at the 2012 Paralympic Games and the USA Volleyball Junior Boys Team at the 2015 U21 World Championship. She currently serves on the ParaVolley Ethics Commission and the NORCECA Coaches and Technical Commission. She emcees the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Induction Dinner in Holyoake, MA (2019 & 2021).

Reynaud was honored in 2016 with the “Friar Award,” USA Volleyball’s highest award. She has served as President of the American Volleyball Coaches Association and was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2017. She was inducted into the Missouri State University Women’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983, the Webster Groves High School Hall of Fame in 2006, the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009, the Florida Region Hall of Fame in 2011, and the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame as an All-Time Great Coach in the Pioneer Division in 2020. Reynaud also served as Board President for numerous years for the Refuge House, the sexual and domestic violence center in Tallahassee. She has published several books, including The Volleyball Coaching Bible Volumes I & II, 101 Winning Volleyball Drills, Coaching Volleyball: Technical and Tactical Skills, She Can Coach, and numerous volleyball DVDs. Reynaud attended Missouri State University and played volleyball and field hockey.

Reynaud continues to teach online courses at Florida State University as an adjunct professor. She teaches Advanced Coaching, Athlete Recruitment, and Fundraising for Sport. She also does the color commentary for FSU home volleyball matches during the fall.