Xavier University Athletics
Former Xavier Volleyball Head Coach Floyd Deaton Passes Away at Age 65
03.30.20 | Volleyball
Deaton is Xavier's all-time winningest coach and four-time A-10 Coach of the Year
CINCINNATI, OHÂ - Former Xavier volleyball head coach Floyd Deaton passed away on Sunday night. He was 65. Deaton spent 20 years with the program from 1990-2009, and he amassed many groundbreaking accomplishments for Xavier volleyball.
Floyd Deaton Photo Gallery
He led Xavier to a record of .500 or better in 19 of 20 seasons, including his first seven with the new team. In 1998, he took Xavier to the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament as regular season champions, and he was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the first time. He would go on to reach the conference tournament for the remaining 11 years of his tenure.Â
In 2001, Deaton and the Musketeers won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, securing Xavier's first berth in the NCAA Tournament in program history. He won back-to-back Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year titles in 2003 and 2004, the latter including an Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship. Three years later in 2007, Deaton won his fourth Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor after earning an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.Â
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"Floyd was an amazing individual," current volleyball head coach Christy Pfeffenberger remembers, "Every person who had the privilege of meeting him for just five minutes would be able to attest to his ability to make you feel so important yet make your problems seem so simple. He had a way with words. There are many "Floyd-isms" floating around out there. His bark was bigger than his bite. He knew how to push his players to their breaking point, but say just the right thing that made them recognize what he was doing and learn a "bigger than volleyball" life lesson. He just loved being a coach, and he was such a great mentor. He poured his heart into every player he coached with a pure soul. He knew the name of every janitor and cafeteria worker along with student-athletes. He had a special way about him and one that we all will miss dearly."
In all, Floyd Deaton resigned with a record of 411-246 (.626), the most wins by a head coach in Xavier volleyball history. He took the Musketeers to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances (2001, 2007), two Atlantic 10 regular season titles (1998, 2004), a conference tournament championship (2001), and earned four selections as Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (1998, 2003, 2004, 2007).
In his 20 years, Deaton coached three AVCA All-Northeast Region players, one AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, 48 All-Conference selections (one MCC and 47 A-10), 14 A-10 All-Rookie team selections and 16 A-10 Academic All-Conference selections. He also produced three A-10 Players of the Year, two A-10 Setters of the Year, three A-10 Rookies of the Year, four A-10 Student-Athletes of the Year, a 2004 Third Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America of the Year and nine Academic All-America All-District selections.
Floyd Deaton Photo Gallery
He led Xavier to a record of .500 or better in 19 of 20 seasons, including his first seven with the new team. In 1998, he took Xavier to the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament as regular season champions, and he was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the first time. He would go on to reach the conference tournament for the remaining 11 years of his tenure.Â
In 2001, Deaton and the Musketeers won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, securing Xavier's first berth in the NCAA Tournament in program history. He won back-to-back Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year titles in 2003 and 2004, the latter including an Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship. Three years later in 2007, Deaton won his fourth Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor after earning an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.Â
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"Floyd was an amazing individual," current volleyball head coach Christy Pfeffenberger remembers, "Every person who had the privilege of meeting him for just five minutes would be able to attest to his ability to make you feel so important yet make your problems seem so simple. He had a way with words. There are many "Floyd-isms" floating around out there. His bark was bigger than his bite. He knew how to push his players to their breaking point, but say just the right thing that made them recognize what he was doing and learn a "bigger than volleyball" life lesson. He just loved being a coach, and he was such a great mentor. He poured his heart into every player he coached with a pure soul. He knew the name of every janitor and cafeteria worker along with student-athletes. He had a special way about him and one that we all will miss dearly."
In all, Floyd Deaton resigned with a record of 411-246 (.626), the most wins by a head coach in Xavier volleyball history. He took the Musketeers to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances (2001, 2007), two Atlantic 10 regular season titles (1998, 2004), a conference tournament championship (2001), and earned four selections as Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (1998, 2003, 2004, 2007).
In his 20 years, Deaton coached three AVCA All-Northeast Region players, one AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, 48 All-Conference selections (one MCC and 47 A-10), 14 A-10 All-Rookie team selections and 16 A-10 Academic All-Conference selections. He also produced three A-10 Players of the Year, two A-10 Setters of the Year, three A-10 Rookies of the Year, four A-10 Student-Athletes of the Year, a 2004 Third Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America of the Year and nine Academic All-America All-District selections.
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