Wade Benson enters his first season on the Auburn coaching staff, accepting the position in July to replace Liz Underwood Under Benson's direction, EWU won three Big Sky Conference regular-season titles (2002, 2003, 2004) and a Big Sky Tournament title in 2001. The 2001 title gave the Eagles a berth in the NCAA Tournament and a victory over Oregon State, equaling the highest advancement in league history. His 2002 team went 29-2 and made the USA Today/AVCA Division I Top 25 poll for the first time, making it as high as No. 15 in the nation. Eastern Washington played in the Big Sky Conference championship match in each of Benson's seven seasons and finished with 20 or more wins in the past six seasons. Benson tallied a 154-55 record during his tenure at EWU for a .737 winning percentage. Prior to coming to Eastern, Benson was the head coach at Western Oregon where he put together a 42-7 record and finished third in the NAIA Championship. Aside from his time as a head coach, Benson also has seven years of experience as an assistant. He served as an assistant for three years at Western Oregon and four years at Eastern Washington under his predecessor, Pamela Parks. Benson's teams at Eastern Washington also experienced success in the classroom and in attendance. Six of Benson's squads received Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Award. In addition, Eastern averaged more than 1,000 fans per match all seven seasons and ranked in the top 30 nationally in attendance. During the off-season, Benson served as the club director and head coach of the Spokane Splash Volleyball Club, while also working as camp director of the Northern Exposure Volleyball Camp in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Benson, a 2006 graduate of Eastern Washington, and his wife, Jill, have a 4-year-old son, Brady Jaymz, and a 2-year-old daughter, Bailey Marie. |
 
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