Wildcat alumna Charita Stubbs takes over role as head Arizona volleyball coach; ‘I bleed red and blue’

Previous head coach Dave Rubio retires after 31 seasons

BY JASON DAYEE @JaySportsTakes

Charita Stubbs was named the next head coach of the Arizona volleyball team shortly after the announcement of Dave Rubio’s retirement. With this promotion, Stubbs is now the first African-American head coach in the University of Arizona’s volleyball program history as well as the school’s fourth head volleyball coach.

The retirement

“After 31 seasons as the head volleyball coach at the University of Arizona, it is time for me to retire,” Rubio said in a statement. He leaves the program as the winningest head coach in program history.

Prior to arriving in Arizona, Rubio had already established himself as one of the great young coaching talents. He won a Division II National Championship at California State University Bakersfield, which was part of his successful five-year career at Cal State Bakersfield where he had a 122-66 record. He led the Roadrunners to two Final Fours and the 1989 National Championship.

Rubio inherited a program that never won a single conference match prior to his arrival. Over his tenure with the Wildcats, he guided them to a 570-380 record and won 692 matches in his 36-year collegiate coaching career. This is the 11th most amongst all active Division I coaches, and he guided Arizona to its first-ever Pac-10 title in 2000.

Rubio recently became the second Pac-12 volleyball coach in history to reach 500 wins in 2018. He now ends his career with 570 wins, making him the second-winningest Pac-12 volleyball coach in history.

Rubio said he was also very fortunate to join an incredible group of Arizona coaches.

“I owe a debt of gratitude to all the assistant coaches who have helped me grow and inspire me along this journey, including my athletic trainer Emily Johnson who has been with me for over 15 years,” Rubio said. “I want to especially thank my associate head coach Charita Stubbs who has been with me for over 20 years as a former player and assistant. I appreciated your loyalty and wisdom over the last 31 years.”

Rubio closed out his coaching career by giving his final thanks to his mentors.

“Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not properly recognize and thank these two people,” Rubio said. “Rocky LaRose mentored me and watched over me throughout the 25 years we were together. I can never give her enough credit and thanks for my longevity in Arizona. Suzy Mason took over for Rocky as my supervisor and made my job easier while always being there to help me.”

The promotion

As a former Wildcat, Stubbs played at the UA under Rubio from 1990-94 before spending 19 years on Rubio’s coaching staff. During a gap in her time at the UA, Stubbs also led North Carolina State University’s volleyball team as head coach.

“I am incredibly excited to name Charita Stubbs as our next head volleyball coach,” Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke said in a statement. “As a former Wildcat studentathlete and longtime member of Dave Rubio’s staff, Rita has a great appreciation and understanding of what it means to compete for the University of Arizona. Rita has a tremendous vision and outstanding skill set that will set the course for future success for Arizona volleyball, and I look forward to watching her add more chapters to the storied legacy of the program.”

In a press conference announcing the promotion, Rubio said he is confident Stubbs is the best person to take over the program.

“It was a natural transition for us, for me to recommend her to follow me,” Rubio said. “I’m so appreciative of Dave Heeke and the administration to have enough confidence in her and to carry on and make it better. We need to be better, and I have all of the confidence in the world that Rita is the right person for the job, and I’m excited she’s been given the opportunity to do that.”

With Rubio, Stubbs coached one of the top defenses in the nation during the 2022 season and helped bring the Wildcats to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances in her 19 total seasons with the team. Some of her other coaching achievements include helping coach nine Wildcats to

All-American status, including Devyn Cross, Arizona’s first middle blocker to earn honorable mention All-American honors since Melissa McLinden in 1985.

“I want to thank Dave Heeke for believing in me and naming me the new head coach of Arizona volleyball,” Stubbs said in a statement. “I am excited to lead my alma mater as I bleed red and blue. I cannot thank Dave Rubio enough for believing in this girl from Cleveland, Ohio as a player and as a coach. I stand for truth, hard work and discipline in this game, and I will continue Arizona volleyball’s culture where our student-athletes enjoy the process.”

Since Stubbs joined Rubio’s coaching staff, the Wildcats have appeared in five of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments. In this past 10 years, Stubbs has helped Arizona win a total of 175 games. This is one of the most successful 10year runs in school history.

Stubbs first began her coaching career in 1997 as an assistant coach under Rubio. In her first nine consecutive years with the team, she helped the Wildcats reach the NCAA Tournament every single year and finish in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll in eight of those nine seasons. She then began her first head coaching experience in North Carolina in 2006 before returning to Arizona in 2013.

Before her coaching career, Stubbs — known then as Charita Johnson — had accomplishments scattered through the university’s history books. She was the first player in Arizona history to record 300 kills, 300 digs and 100 blocks in one season. As a player, she also led the Wildcats to back-toback Sweet 16 appearances at the 1993 and 1994 NCAA Tournaments.

At the press conference, Stubbs thanked Rubio for encouraging her to take on the role and believing in her.

“I don’t know that I can articulate enough about what Dave did,” she said. “I like to tell everyone he saved me three times. He saved me as a player, he saved me when he believed in me to be a coach when I had no desire to coach [...] and when he brought me back from North Carolina. My hearts goes out for Dave and I can’t say enough about him.”