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Head coach 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. He has been with the USC women's program since its inception in 1995, and has led his men's and women's teams to national championships twice in the same school year (the men in 1998 and 2003 and the women in 1999 and 2004). In his 14th season at the helm of the men's program, Vavic led the Trojans to an undefeated season topped off with the 2008 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. The following season, Vavic and the Trojan men claimed back-to-back titles as 2009 NCAA champs.
Vavic brings a 347-114 (.753) all-time record on the women's side into the 2010 season -- his 16th as the women's head coach. Since 1999 when the program was fully funded, Vavic's record is 276-47 (.851) with an even more impressive 228-36 (.864) record in his last nine seasons, including six straight NCAA tournament appearances.
In 2009, the USC women posted a 26-2 overall record and won the 2009 MPSF Championship. The Women of Troy would reach the NCAA final for the second year in a row, but lost in the title match. Kami Craig would go on and win the 2009 Peter J. Cutino Award, becoming the fifth USC woman to win the award.
In 2008, Vavic led the Women of Troy to a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. For the second time in three years, USC reached the title match, but lost to finish the season at 21-8 after also taking second at the MPSF Tournament. In 2007, USC had finished third at both the MPSF and NCAA tournaments, going 22-6 overall. His 2006 Women of Troy raced undefeated through the regular season and finished second in the NCAA Tournament, falling in the last second in a 9-8 decision that left the Trojans with a 27-3 overall record. For the first time in school history, Vavic saw two of his players earn collegiate water polo's highest honor, as Juraj Zatovic and Lauren Wenger made it a Trojan sweep of the Peter J. Cutino Award for the 2005 men's and 2006 women's seasons.
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, and he was named 2005 MPSF and National Coach of the Year once again on the men's side following the Trojans' third men's NCAA title. His 2004 women's team won the national championship and became the first team in NCAA Championship history to go undefeated (29-0).
Vavic oversaw the team's move from Division II in 1995 to Division I in 1996. He guided USC to its first-ever Division I National Collegiate Championships appearance in 1997 and a seventh-place national finish while the 1998 team took fifth nationally. In 1999, USC won the national championship, and Vavic was named the National Coach of the Year and the MPSF Coach of the Year.The 2000 squad added another strong showing, finishing second nationally.
Vavic came to USC in 1992 as an assistant men's water polo coach, joined John Williams as co-head coach in 1995 and took over the men's program 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 were also 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: besides 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 his 15 seasons with the men's program, Vavic has improved his career coaching record on the men's side to 339-59 (.852) with national championships won in 1998, 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009.
In January of 2005, Vavic was named Men's Elite Zone Coach of the Year by U.S. Water Polo for the coastal California region. In 2009, Vavic received the Monte Nitzkowski Distinguished Men's Coaching Award (Elite) for his success at the collegiate and club levels in 2009.
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 league seasons (1988-89). In the summer of 1995, Vavic served as an assistant water polo coach at the World University Games. In 2003, Vavic was the head coach for the U.S. team that narrowly missed a chance to play in the WUG medal round after losing to Serbia Montenegro 12-10 in a shootout.
Vavic graduated from UCLA in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in history. He and his wife, Lisa, have four children: Nikola, Monica, Marko and Stefan.
VAVIC AT USC 1996 MPSF Men's Co-Coach of the Year 1998 National Men's Co-Coach of the Year 1999 MPSF Women's Coach of the Year 1999 National Women's Coach of the Year 2003 MPSF Men's Coach of the Year 2003 National Men's Coach of the Year 2004 MPSF Women's Coach of the Year 2004 National Women's Coach of the Year 2005 MPSF Men's Coach of the Year 2005 National Men's Coach of the Year 2006 MPSF Men's Coach of the Year 2008 MPSF Men's Coach of the Year 2009 National Men's Coach of the YearMen's coaching record: 339-59 (.852) • 15 seasons Women's coaching record: 347-114 (.753) • 15 seasons
