Today@Sam Article

Gray Reflects On Four Decades Of Bearkat Volleyball

June 4, 2024
SHSU Media Contact: Campbell Atkins

Brenda Gray was blown away when over 80 former players showed up to surprise her with a party celebrating her 40th anniversary as Sam Houston State University’s head volleyball coach in the fall.

“I was in a state of shock, I just couldn’t believe it,” said the longtime coach. “I strive to touch my players’ lives, and they touch mine. They’re my second family. I don’t work for a living because I get to do what I love every day.”

Over the years, Gray has attended multiple similar celebrations on her players’ behalf, including weddings and baby showers. These, she stressed, comprise the most memorable moments of her four decades at the helm and hold more weight than wins and losses on the court ever could.

“At the end of the day, this is about watching these young women from different backgrounds grow into mature women and continuing those relationships,” she said.

Despite this sentiment, Gray has enjoyed considerable success on the court as well. Her long list of successes include over 760 wins, four Conference Coach of the Year honors, two NCAA Division I National Playoff appearances and two NCAA Division II Final Four trips. She has also coached four NCAA All-Americans, eight NCAA All-Region players and 51 All-Conference players, who have earned the honor a total of 85 times.

“I have a passion and love for what I do and I’m extremely competitive,” she said. “It really doesn’t matter what the event is, I just love a challenge. I love to see these girls buy into the philosophy that we’ve established here and develop into player of the year candidates or win a championship and do it collectively as a unit. That is what fulfills me.”

Gray first became a Bearkat as a player transferring from Lee College in 1981. After graduating in 1982, she worked as a graduate assistant under then-head coach Rebecca Bilsing. After earning her master’s and a year away at Bastrop High School, where she coached volleyball, basketball and track, Gray received a call from an ailing Bilsing, who asked her to fill in as head coach of the Bearkats during the 1984 season.

“I learned so much from Bilsing and the other coaches from all the sports I was a part of growing up,” she said. “With that being instilled in me and knowing the parameters of what I had to work with at a familiar university, I was able to make it fun while keeping it competitive and pushing the players. The results were quite exciting during that first year.”

The Bearkats won 47 games out of the Gulf Star Conference in their first of back-to-back trips to the Division II Final Four. Bilsing was able to travel with the team and watch her young successor and players compete in the first of these two trips before tragically succumbing to cancer in February of 1985.

“I really didn’t know what was going to happen,” Gray said of the uncertain period between the 1984 and 1985 campaigns.

Ron Randleman, who served as SHSU’s athletic director from 1982-90, proposed one simple question to Gray during the ensuing process to name a permanent head volleyball coach: “Why shouldn’t I hire you?”

Gray, who could not think of a good answer, officially assumed the role full time in 1985.

In the last four decades, she has seen the program and college sports in general undergo vast changes. The program has specifically grown exponentially. After competing in Division II in 1984-85, the Gulf Star Conference jumped to D-1 in 1986 before the Bearkats switched to the Southland Conference. The volleyball team spent 34 years at this level, while Gray racked up over 600 of her wins and both of her trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 2021, she led a special group of five starting seniors to a top finish in their first year competing in Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Now, following yet another realignment, Gray is attempting to navigate another upward hurdle: transitioning to Conference USA.

“I have tried to keep my philosophy and traditions instilled in this new era and I believe that I have had to develop through this myself,” she said. “While the level in which volleyball has continued to go up, I will say it has demanded a different type of player. It is an ever-changing landscape with the portal, so that aspect is certainly different.”

Two of the team’s major contributors were lost due to injury during their first CUSA campaign in 2023, which helped contribute to a difficult year of transition.

“You cannot limp into a league like this, you just can’t,” Gray said. “But we are looking forward to competing in Conference USA. We will continue to bring in student-athletes who strive to achieve at a high level. We have a perfect graduation rate, and I am over the moon with my girls’ academics. They are here for the right reasons: to earn a degree and bring glory to the volleyball program.”

Another major change from Gray’s first two decades on the sidelines is the fact that she no longer stands alone. During the first half of her coaching career, she oversaw the Bearkats without the help of any assistant coaches or trainers and would even have to wrap ankles and take care of her players’ nagging injuries by herself. Now, she can say she has benefited from the help of multiple upstanding assistants who have gone on to find their own successes in the sport.

For the last 10 years, this has included her former player and daughter, Tayler Gray.

“I had so much pride in what she was doing that I wanted to help her achieve as much success as possible,” said Tayler on why she chose to play and subsequently coach under her mother at SHSU. “It has been a blessing to get under her coaching tutelage and I am very thankful for everything she has done for me, from raising me and providing the resources needed to be successful to holding me accountable every step of the way, regardless of that bloodline.”

Tayler was a dual-sport athlete during her time at Sam and admitted that softball was her first love in terms of sports, but her allegiance has always been to the university she grew up idolizing.

“In our household, it’s an honor and a privilege to be a Bearkat,” Tayler said. “We have a ton of pride for orange and white and what that stands for. There has always been a love and passion there.”

Outsiders looking in often comment on how similar Tayler is to Brenda, which never ceases to fill either with pride. However, the two coaches work hard to keep their mother-daughter relationship separate from their work on the court.

“Tayler grew up in the gym and has seen everything from childhood on,” Brenda said. “Watching her not only play for me at Sam Houston, but also on the softball team, was indescribable. What an energetic young lady she is.”

The Gray Bearkat bloodline extends beyond the mother-daughter duo. Brenda’s husband, Tim, was a member of SHSU’s football squad and their son, Timothy, competed as a four-year letterman and pitcher for the baseball team before signing a professional contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It’s not just my passion for the game that runs deep, this university runs very deep within my family,” Brenda said. “I’m extremely fortunate to have held this position for 40 years and to have played here. The administration gives you guidance, but they do not micromanage, it’s a wonderful atmosphere to work in.”

Gray’s 763 career victories currently rank her in the top 10 of active NCAA D-I head women’s volleyball coaches.

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