Through the ups and downs, the Iowa volleyball team has found consistent leadership and support through third-year head coach Jim Barnes, whose career has a history of building humble programs into powerhouse squads.
Barnes has compiled a record of 473-390 during his 27-year tenure as a collegiate head coach, leading his teams to four postseason appearances and nine 20-win seasons.
“I’ve helped five programs who were not winners become winners,” Barnes said. “I would love to get this program to become a winner. To me, the best part of how to end this career is to turn Iowa into a winner.”
Barnes began his coaching career as an assistant for six years at McNeese State, his alma mater. His reputation as a coach only grew from 1996-01, where he was the head coach at Lamar, netting the Lady Cardinals two Southland Conference championships during his tenure.
Barnes then moved to Wyoming and brought the Cowgirls their first 20-win season in 11 years.
After spending two seasons in Laramie, Barnes returned to Texas in 2004 to coach the Baylor Bears, then a fledgling program.
Barnes quickly improved the program, leading it to two NCAA tournament appearances in 11 seasons, including a Sweet 16 run in 2009. He also produced Baylor’s first five All-Americans and became the winningest coach in program history with 181 triumphs.
Following his dismissal from Baylor in 2014, Barnes served as head coach at Tulane, leading the Green Wave to consecutive title game berths in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
Now, Barnes looks to turn around a struggling Iowa program that has historically been one of the Big Ten’s worst and has never played in an NCAA Tournament to date.
“It’s a very similar situation,” Barnes said. “They were at the bottom of the Big 12, and we built them all the way up to the Sweet 16. I’m certainly leaning a lot of that knowledge on what we’re doing here.”
Barnes has started slowly through his first two seasons at the helm, posting records of 10-21 in 2022 and 8-24 in 2023. Despite the uphill climb, Barnes maintains his goal of competing for Big Ten titles.
“We want to make this team a top 25 program every season; start competing for Big Ten titles,” Barnes said. “If you’re winning this league, you’re going to be a national champion. There’s so much potential and so [many] things to achieve here that we’re going to work hard to make it happen.”
Barnes’ job as a coach extends beyond stats and numbers from games; it also means making a lasting impact on his players. One of those players is fifth-year middle hitter Gracie Gibson, a transfer from Lafayette, who credits Barnes as a positive influence and role model.
“I think he’s one of the most positive coaches I’ve ever had,” Gibson said. “As a player, you definitely always feel like he believes in you, which I think is really great and helpful on the court. I feel like we’re allowed to make mistakes and work through things. You always know that he knows that you can get the job done.”
Gibson, who played and started in all 24 matches for Lafayette last season, praises Barnes for encouraging team bonding.
“In preseason, we did a lot of team activities together to get to know each other, which I feel like translated well on the court right off the bat,” Gibson said. “He really encourages us to be around each other a lot off the court, which helps our chemistry on the court as well.”
Second-year Olivia Lombardi, who redshirted her first year and is now in her first active season, believes that Barnes has positively impacted Iowa’s performance.
“He’s just overall a great person,” Lombardi said. “I feel like you don’t find that a lot in coaches. He’s very supportive outside and on the court, a very positive person, always looking for the best in all of us. I think that’s helped us do a little bit better this year.”
Lombardi appreciates that while the team is not perfect, nobody is, and Barnes still believes in taking them to a high level.
“He knows what we’re capable of and the potential we have, so he will always make sure that we’re not doing any less than that,” Lombardi said. “But he’s also a great encourager. He does a great job of reiterating that we’re not perfect, but with hard work and determination, we’ll get there eventually.”