Tim Balice

Tim Balice

Tim Balice continues to raise the level of success for the women's volleyball program at Urbana University, where he has constructed the first back-to-back winning seasons and the first postseason victory during the school's NCAA era.

Balice holds an overall record of 52-48 (27-21 MEC) after three seasons, most recently leading the Blue Knights to their fifth straight conference tournament in 2017. UU finished the year 19-17 while tying the program's best record in league play at 10-6.




Last fall, UU advanced to the MEC quarterfinals after an impressive 3-0 sweep of Fairmont State. UU then pushed eventual league champion Wheeling Jesuit to the brink during a heartbreaking loss in five sets, which featured a 14-14 tie in the final stanza. The Blue Knights were the second team in the history of the MEC to take WJU to five sets.

Under Balice in 2016, UU earned the fourth seed - the highest for any UU squad - in the program's fourth straight appearance in the Mountain East Conference Tournament after going 20-14 (10-6 MEC). The 20 wins are the most for UU women's volleyball since joining NCAA Division II and marked the first winning season in over a decade for the program.

Several accolades for student-athletes have poured in under the guidance of Tim Balice, including nine all-conference selections and two all-region awards. In 2017, senior Katlynn Dunlap became the school's all-time kills and digs leader (D2 Era) while earning her fourth all-conference selection. One of the nation's top outside hitters, Dunlap also appeared on the AVCA Atlantic Region Team and D2CCA All-Atlantic Region Second Team. In 2016, senior OH Mikaela Beck broke the school's single-season kills record and also earned first-team all-conference honors, along with Dunlap.

Under Balice, the Blue Knights have gone above and beyond off the court. The volleyball squad earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award in 2015-16 for only the second time in program history - and first as a NCAA Division II member.

Additionally, the Blue Knights have produced a total of 41 student-athletes on the All-MEC Academic Team (3.70+ GPA) and All-MEC Commissioner's List (3.25-3.69 GPA) during the Balice era. In the fall of 2016, UU led all MEC volleyball teams with the highest number of student-athletes on the All-MEC Academic Team (11).

Balice joined the Blue Knights on May 19, 2015, as the first hire brought on by UU Director of Athletics Larry Cox. Prior to his arrival at UU, Balice spent a year and a half as an assistant at the University of Dayton, as well as a two-year stint as head coach at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

In his time at Dayton, Balice was involved in all aspects of a perennial top-50 NCAA Division I program and aided the Flyers to a 30-6 finish in 2014 and a 2nd round appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament; losing to eventual National Champion, Penn State University. During the 2014 campaign the Flyers were able to win both regular season and conference tournament titles while finishing with an RPI of 56 while receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 Poll.

Mentored under two-time AVCA NCAA Division I Regional Coach of the year, Tim Horsmon, Balice was able to train all positions while heavily focusing on individual and team defense. While with the Flyers, Balice trained two Honorable Mention All-Americans, two All-Region selections, and one Honorable Mention All-Region selection. The Flyers also garnished the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, Atlantic 10 Setter of the Year, and Atlantic 10 Libero of the Year with Balice on staff.

While at the helm of Kalamazoo Valley, Balice compiled an overall record of 36-28, including a 20-8 mark in Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) play. He led the Cougars to back-to-back conference tournament appearances as well as twice qualified for the NJCAA Regional Tournament. The Cougars also had one All-American, one Regional Player of the Year, one Conference Freshman of the Year and eight All-MCCAA selections.745

That KVCC Program not only saw improvement on the court under Balice, but also in the classroom and community.  Earning just under a 3.4 team GPA in 2012, while also boasting an NJCAA Academic All-American, earning the NJCAA Award of Superior Academic Achievement, the NJCAA Award of Exemplary Academic Achievement, and an Academic All-MCCAA Award.

Balice is recognized as an accomplished club coach throughout the Midwest. He served as an assistant and head coach of several Dead Frog/FaR Out (DFFO) Volleyball Club teams while in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During his four years at DFFO, Balice worked with over 50 prep athletes who moved on to four-year institutions.

Also during that time Balice began his coaching career at Heritage Christian Academy (2009-2011) located in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Balice continued his involvement with club volleyball spending time with Elevation Volleyball Club of Mason, Ohio as well as Dayton Juniors located in Dayton, Ohio. Balice’s 15 National Team at Elevation was ranked sixth in the country by PrepVolleyball.com earning an open bid to the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic National Tournament in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 47-8 team also took first place in the USA Volleyball Ohio Valley Region Girl’s Junior Championship in 2015.

Balice received two bachelor of science degrees (exercise science and biomedical science) in December of 2010 from Western Michigan University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health from Michigan State University.

He was a varsity student-athlete for WMU’s football program, starting his career as a walk-on and eventually earning a full athletic scholarship. During his time as a student-athlete at WMU, Balice played on the men's club volleyball team as a middle hitter (2005-2007) as well as the WMU club baseball team. Additionally, Balice coached the club women’s volleyball team at WMU 2010-14.