Karen Chisum
Karen Chisum is the head women’s volleyball coach at Texas State University, a position she assumed in 1980. In 33 seasons as the Bobcats head coach, Karen has compiled a 757-483-3 record, making her the sixth winningest active Division I head coach and the 13th winningest all-time Division I head coach. In 2010, she reached the 700 wins mark and joined only 19 other head coaches who have reached that mark. Under Karen’s lead, Texas State has captured seven conference titles, winning the Gulf Star Conference crown in 1986 and the Southland Conference title in 1991, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2011. In addition, Karen has led the Bobcats to seven SLC Tournament titles and her 2000 season entered the record books as the first undefeated SLC season (20-0). Karen received Coach of the Year honors (voted on by her peers) in 1986, 1991, 2000, 2003, and 2011 and she has taken the Bobcats to the NCAA National Championships seven times.
Karen has coached 85 All-Conference performers at Texas State, including 75 All-Southland Conference selectees. Twenty-five Bobcats have earned first-team All-SLC honors under the tutelage of the veteran coach. In addition, a total of 33 Bobcats have earned the SLC All-Academic Team honors 52 times under Karen’s direction.
Karen received a B.S. in education and an M.S. in education from Texas State University, where she earned letters in tennis and softball. She began her coaching career at Goodnight Middle School in San Marcos, Texas, and was highly influenced by colleague Lucy Worley. Karen moved up to San Marcos High School and was the assistant volleyball coach for the 1974- 75 season before becoming the head coach at New Braunfels High School. The next three years spent at NBHS were extremely successful, with trips to the regional championship each year and a 3A state championship title. Nell Fortner, an all-state volleyball star for Karen during that time, later served as head coach of the 2000 USA Olympic women’s basketball team that won a gold medal and recently retired as the head women’s basketball coach at Auburn University.
In 1978, Karen accepted a position at Texas State as an assistant volleyball and basketball coach. Two years later, she was promoted to head volleyball coach and has continued her career as the Bobcats head mentor.
Karen’s influence in volleyball reaches far beyond Texas State. She serves as a member of both the NCAA and American Volleyball Coaches Association voting committees for national rankings and has also been a teaching clinician for various volleyball programs and camps throughout the United States. In 1994, Karen became the first female to be inducted into the Texas State “T” Association’s Hall of Honor. Induction into the Hall of Honor is the highest award a letter winner at Texas State can receive. She was garnished with a Texas State Alumnae Receiver honor in 1995 and was named a Texas State Distinguished Alumni in 2011.
