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Jovan Vavic, one of the top water polo coaches in the country, serves a dual role as the head coach of both the USC men's and women's teams and has led both to national championships twice in the same school year (the men in 1998 and 2003 and the women in 1999 and 2004). Now in his 15th season at the helm of the men's program, Vavic has improved his career coaching record on the men's side to 313-57 (.846) after leading the Trojans to a third MPSF Championship and fourth NCAA Championship for USC's best season in program history with a 29-0 undefeated run through 2008. His 300th career men's win was notched on Oct. 12, 2008 when his Trojans beat Cal 12-7 in the semifinals of the SoCal Tournament. Going 19-3 overall, the Vavic's 2007 Trojans claimed the MPSF Tournament championship and placed a program-best seven players on All-MPSF teams. USC reached its third straight NCAA title match, falling 8-6 to Cal. USC posted its first undefeated regular season in 2006, as its overall winning streak grew to a program-record 44 straight victories. Vavic was named the MPSF Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career (four times with USC men and twice with the women), and the Trojans finished 2006 with a 26-2 overall record after a last-second loss to Cal in the NCAA championship match. It was USC's second straight trip to the final, as Vavic had guided the Trojans to their third-ever NCAA Championship and a program-best 26-1 record in 2005. In his tenure as men's head coach, Vavic boasts a winning record against all opponents on the men's side of the game, recording only two losses in 13 seasons against teams outside the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. He is 207-55 (.790) against MPSF teams since 1995. For his success in guiding USC to the NCAA crown in 2005, Vavic was named the AWPCA National Men's Coach of the Year. His Trojans also claimed the 2005 MPSF Championship, and Vavic earned himself MPSF Coach of the Year honors as well. At 26-1, USC posted its most wins in history and broke another record by closing out the year on an 19-game winning streak. Vavic came to USC in 1992 as an assistant men's water polo coach, joined John Williams as Troy's co-head coach in 1995 and took over the men's head coaching reins in 1999 after Williams retired. He and Williams were named National Coaches of the Year in 1998 after leading USC to its first-ever national championship. They also were named MPSF Co-Coaches of the Year in 1996 after leading USC to the conference title. In fact, in the 1998-99 season, Vavic did something no other coach has accomplished as his teams won three national championships. In addition to capturing the 1998 men's and 1999 women's titles, his 1999 men's club team won the Men's Senior National Club Championship. In 2003, Vavic pulled a coaching double sweep when he was named 2003 National Coach of the Year and MPSF Coach of the Year for the men and 2004 National Coach of the Year and MPSF Coach of the Year for the women. Vavic has been with the USC women's program since its inception in 1995, and the 2004 women's team became the first team in NCAA Championship history to go undefeated (29-0) during the regular season. Following the USC women's second-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Championships -- the fifth straight appearance in the tournament for the Women of Troy -- Vavic now holds a 321-112 (.741) all-time record in his 14 years on the women's side. The USC women now have posted at least 20 wins in 11 consecutive seasons. Vavic earned his 300th career with with the Women of Troy in the third-place game of the 2007 NCAA Tournament -- a 13-6 win over UC San Diego on May 13, 2007. In 2006, the USC women's team went on a 25-game winning streak and finished with the nation's best record at 27-3 after taking second in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Vavic oversaw the women's water polo team's move from Division II in 1995 to Division I in 1996, and in 1997, he guided USC to its first-ever Division I National Collegiate Championships appearance and a seventh-place national finish while the 1998 team took fifth nationally. The 2000 squad added another strong showing as the Trojans finished second. Since 1999 when the program was fully funded, Vavic's record is 234-39 (.857) with an even more impressive 181-28 (.866) record in his last six seasons. In 1999, Vavic was named the National Women's Coach of the Year and the MPSF Coach of the Year. The 47-year-old Vavic, a native of Yugoslavia, spent the 1991 season as an assistant men's coach at UCLA. Previously, he coached three seasons (1987-1990) at Palos Verdes (Calif.) High, where he led Palos Verdes to two undefeated Pioneer League seasons (1988-89). In the summer of 2003, Vavic was the head coach for the United States team that finished eighth at the World University Games and narrowly missed a chance to play in the medal round after losing to Serbia and Montenegro 12-10 in a shootout. In 1995, Vavic served as an assistant water polo coach for the U.S. World University Games team. Vavic graduated from UCLA in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in history. He and his wife, Lisa have four children: Nikola (16), Monica (14), Marko (9) and Stefan (8). VAVIC AT USC 1996 MPSF Men's Co-Coach of the Year Men's career coaching record: 313-57 (.846) • 14 seasons |
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