CORVALLIS, Ore. (U-WIRE) -- Last week, Santiago Restrepo accepted the head-coaching position at OU and the job of turning the program around after an 11-21 season record. Restrepo has impressed the volleyball world since he was a young man in Bogota, Colombia, and now brings his playing and coaching successes to OU.

Restrepo came to the United States when he was 17 as a standout volleyball player.

"When I was a junior in high school, I was playing for the Colombian National Team in a tournament in China when I was recruited by UCLA," Restrepo said. "The coach told me to learn some English my senior year and UCLA would offer me a scholarship."

Restrepo did his part and learned English, but UCLA offered him a one-third scholarship. Unable to pay for the other two-thirds of tuition, Restrepo went to the East Coast to play for East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania.

At East Stroudsburg, Restrepo earned All-American honors along with the Senior Athlete Award in 1986. Afterward, he made the move to professional volleyball.

"I played pro volleyball in France for a year and then played in the AVP for four seasons," Restrepo said.

After his playing days, Restrepo took command of his alma mater from 1995-97. He was named Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1996 after leading the team to a 32-2 record.

When he arrived at St. Louis University as assistant coach in 1998, he quickly turned the program around with his conditioning program. After three seasons and helping the Billikens reach a 21-7 record in 2000, Restrepo took the head job at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Restrepo turned the Golden Eagles' program around immediately. He capped his three-year career at USM by leading the team to a program-best 27-6 record. His success was rewarded with the 2003 Conference USA Coach of the Year award.

Staying at USM and continuing the program's success would be the easy thing to do, but Restrepo said he wanted to test his coaching ability. When OU called, he had already been interested in taking the job.

"The jump [to OU] was a no-brainer," Restrepo said. "OU is one of the most prestigious schools in the nation. They're in one of the most prestigious conferences in the nation. I want to play against the best competition and be successful."

OU Associate Athletics Director Stephanie Rempe said Restrepo's determination and passion as a coach are important qualities.

"Santiago will bring another dimension to our athletics program because of his diverse background growing up in Columbia, competing all over the world as a player and coaching at several levels," Rempe said.

Restrepo said turning the team around means changing its mentality and teaching the players discipline.

"We won't lay down for anyone next year," Restrepo said. "We will work on defense, and that wins championships."

(C) 2004 OSU Daily Barometer via U-WIRE.