CAJUNS HIRE MADDEN AS HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH...July 24, 2002

LAFAYETTE -- After a long, extensive search, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun volleyball got who it was looking for.

UL Director of Athletics Nelson Schexnayder announced Wednesday he has named Becky Madden, formerly head coach at Valparaiso, as the Cajun volleyball program's 11th head coach.

Madden, whose hiring is pending approval from the University of Louisiana Board of Trustees, replaces Chris Campbell -- who resigned in February.

Madden comes to UL with an impressive resume. A 1989 graduate of Purdue, Madden was a four-year letter winner at the Big Ten school and later played professionally in Holland.

Her coaching background includes her recent three-year stint as head coach at Valpo. Competing in the Mid-Continent Conference, Madden rebuilt the program. The school was just 6-8 in conference play prior to her arrival. This past season, though, the Crusaders went 10-2 in league play culminating with a spot in the conference tournament championship match. For her efforts, she was named the league's Coach of the Year.

Before Valpo, Madden was an assistant coach at some of the top volleyball programs in the country.

She was the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Clemson from 1996 through '98, helping the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament appearances. She had the same role at South Florida from 1994 through '96. During her final season at USF, the Bulls won the Conference USA championship and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Madden also served as an assistant coach at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., from 1993 through '94 after serving as head coach at Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1990 and '91.

"We are very excited about having Becky join our athletic department," Schexnayder said. "Her experience, her background and her record indicates she will be a great asset to our volleyball program and the Ragin' Cajun family."

After receiving her bachelor's degree in psychology from Purdue, Madden earned a master's degree in therapeutic recreation at Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1992.

Her husband, Bryan, is a state police officer in Baton Rouge.