Legendary women's volleyball coach Russ Rose retires from Penn State after 43 seasons

After 43 seasons, Penn State women's volleyball head coach Russ Rose announced his retirement Thursday. 

Rose led the Nittany Lions to seven NCAA titles and 41 NCAA women’s volleyball tournaments with a 1,330-229 record, ranking seventh in win percentage in all Division 1 sports.

“While I have decided to step into retirement, it has been my pleasure to serve as the head coach of the Penn State women's volleyball program over the last 43 seasons,” said Rose in a statement. “My time here has provided my family and I many memories and relationships that we will carry with us. I would like to thank the many players, managers and support staff for their dedication, in addition to all of the assistants who helped shape the culture and success of the program.

Rose will remain within the athletics department in an advisory role, while Katie Schumacher-Cawley will serve as interim head coach as the Lions open a nation-wide search.

“It’s difficult to appropriately capture our appreciation for Russ Rose and his service to our students, Penn State and our women’s volleyball program," said Sandy Barbour, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. "We send our heartfelt congratulations to Russ Rose on a phenomenal career at Penn State, and decades of tremendous impact on students, staff and community. He has been a mainstay of our community for more than four decades and will long be remembered for raising the profile of women’s volleyball, not just at Penn State but nationally."

Most notably, Rose recorded 17 undefeated home seasons, led Penn State to 109 consecutive match wins – the fourth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history and second-longest by a women's team – and guided the Nittany Lions to 111 straight-set wins in 2009.

Rose is one of five NCAA Division I coaches to have 1,000 victories.

Contact Analis Bailey at aabailey@usatoday.com or on Twitter @analisbailey.