Marvin Alex Dunphy (born 1948) is an American former volleyball player and head coach. He is most known for his time at Pepperdine University.[1][2] During his tenure, Pepperdine won four NCAA Division I Championships.[3] His career record is 612–277 (.688).[3] He also led the United States men's national volleyball team to the gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics.[1][4] He retired from coaching in 2017.[2][5]
Dunphy became head coach of the Pepperdine men's volleyball team in 1977.[6] As head coach, he led the Waves to Championship titles in 1978, 1985, 1992, and 2005.[6][7] Under his tutelage, 45 Pepperdine Waves have earned All-American awards, and six of his players have earned National Player of the Year honors.[6] Eleven of Dunphy's players have gone on to compete in the Olympics.[5] With a career spanning four decades as head coach, he retired in 2017.[2][5]
From 1985 to 1988, Dunphy was the head coach of the United States men's national volleyball team.[4] Under his leadership, the Americans maintained a number one ranking and achieved an impressive overall record of 197–31.[4] Dunphy's squad won every major international event, including the 1985 FIVB World Cup, the 1986 FIVB World Championship, the 1987 Pan American Games, and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.[4][8] In 1988, Dunphy was the recipient of the Coach of the Year Award from the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB).[4] He served as the technical advisor for the 1996 and 2004 Olympic teams, was an assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic team, and has been a consultant coach at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics, and 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics.[9]
In 1994, Dunphy was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.[4] In 2009, he was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame.[6] In 2010, he was inducted into the Pepperdine Hall of Fame.[9] In 2017, he was inducted into the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame.
Dunphy earned an undergraduate degree from Pepperdine University,[10] has a master's degree from the University of Southern California, and completed his doctorate at Brigham Young University.[11] Dunphy is a Professor Emeritus of Sports Medicine in the Natural Science Division at Pepperdine Seaver College.[10]
Dunphy is a veteran of the Vietnam War.[12]
