Matador Hall of Fame Spotlight: Coley Kyman

One of the greatest student-athletes in the history of CSUN Athletics, Coley Kyman was a rare collegiate standout in two vastly different sports.

The 2004 Matador Hall of Fame inductee was not only an All-American for the nationally-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team from 1990-93 but also played quarterback for the Matador football team over the same time frame. Kyman_HOF1

Kyman was named CSUN's Male Athlete of the Year in 1993 after leading the Matador men's volleyball team to an NCAA Final Four appearance and a runner-up finish, falling to UCLA in the national championship.

The 1993 NCAA title match was broadcast live on CBS in front of a packed house at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA's iconic home court. Pauley Pavilion would later become a fixture in the Kyman family and the '93 title match would go down as one of the more memorable moments in Kyman's illustrious CSUN career.

"Playing for the NCAA D-I Volleyball title live on national TV at legendary Pauley Pavilion was certainly one of those moments," said Kyman. "Little did I know at the time, but my wife and now my son would play their home games there as well."

A 1997 CSUN graduate, Kyman is now going on 23 years of marriage and has spent several nights this past year back inside Pauley Pavilion cheering on his son Jake, a freshman on the 2019-20 Bruin basketball team.

"Rooting for my son is amazing and I still can't believe he is playing hoops at UCLA!" said Kyman who has spent the past four years working for Fastly Inc, a software company based out of San Francisco.

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May 8 is an iconic date in the Kyman household. It was the date that the Matadors fell to UCLA in the NCAA Championship in 1993, but 30 years later to the day, Jake signed to play basketball at UCLA. Jake was four years old when Kyman was inducted into the Matador Hall of Fame.

"My wife, Michelle (Mauney) played volleyball for UCLA so it's really humbling and I'm honored to have my son playing there," said Kyman. "I am also constantly working with my younger son, Brayden to reach his dreams of playing college basketball while trying to be the best father I can be."

Kyman's storied CSUN career almost never materialized. A local product from nearby Reseda High School, he initially had committed to play football at UNLV.

"It was a very difficult decision, as I had already committed to UNLV for football," Kyman said. "But I fell in love with the program and coaching staff on my official visit. I knew CSUN was the place I wanted to be, and it was one of the BEST decisions of my life."

John Price, CSUN's head men's volleyball coach from 1986-97, recalled recruiting Kyman in 1989.

"When we were recruiting Coley, his high school team was scheduled to play a Saturday volleyball tournament at Pauley Pavilion," Price said. "I knew if we didn't sign him before that tournament, all the other coaches would see him play and the chances of us getting him wouldn't have been great. I knew we had to get him to commit before that tournament, and we got him to sign an NLI that Friday."

Price knew that Kyman's competitive edge would complement the other players on that team.

"We were fortunate that we had a great group of competitors and winning was very important," he said. "Coley was coming into a program that didn't have a history of winning, but guys like him, Chris McGee and Matt Unger made a huge difference in changing the culture of the program."

A 6-6 middle blocker, Kyman wasn't the tallest player on the court but according to Price, he had other physical tools that made him unstoppable. Kyman_MVB2

"Coley had such a quick arm and could beat a one-on-one block 99 times out of a hundred," he said. "He was nearly impossible to stop. There was a time when we played at Stanford, Matt (Unger) had some friends on the Cardinal team. He literally told them as the match was going on, that he was going to keep setting Coley. They would send multiple blockers at him, but time and time again they couldn't stop him. Coley was just an amazing offensive player."

Kyman's competitive edge also translated to the gridiron where he commanded the Matador offense from under center. Along with Matador men's volleyball, the CSUN football program also had a storied history.

During Kyman's senior season in 1993, one particular game stood out. The Sept. 4 season-opener against San Diego State at Jack Murphy Stadium (now SDCCU Stadium) which was also the home of the San Diego Chargers and San Diego Padres.

"We played in front of 50,000 people at Jack Murphy against San Diego State with their best player being future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk," recalled Kyman.

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Kyman's two-yard TD run late in the first quarter gave the Matadors a 14-7 lead before the host Aztecs rallied for a 34-17 win. Faulk wound up rushing for 170 yards in 27 carries, including three touchdowns, while Kyman threw for 135 yards and one touchdown before suffering a dislocated ankle early in the fourth quarter.

Due to the injury, the San Diego State game turned out to be Kyman's last for the Matador football team. He wound up his career completing 40 passes in 102 attempts for 465 yards and three touchdowns.

Playing multiple sports gave Kyman a unique perspective in supporting the other sports on the CSUN campus.

"Supporting all the sports teams throughout my tenure was also one the highlights of my college experience," he said. "We made it fun and built friendships and a sense of TEAM with every CSUN athlete and team. I am still very good friends with former basketball, baseball, and softball athletes, to go along with my teammates in volleyball and football."

Kyman is still the only three-time first-team All-American in CSUN men's volleyball history. A Volleyball Magazine All-American in 1991, 1992 and 1993, he still holds Matador career records in kills, total attempts, block solos, block assists and total blocks.

He remains the only player in program history to surpass 2,000 career kills as he put down a school-record 2,205 kills over 416 sets from 1990-93.

Kyman was a part of 77 Matador wins during his career, which culminated in the school's first-ever appearance in a Division I NCAA Championship in any sport. Kyman_HOF

Current CSUN head men's volleyball coach Jeff Campbell, an assistant under Price from 1991-97, said Kyman was valuable to the program in a number of ways.

"Coley really helped us reach the next level," Campbell said. "More than being just a great player, he was a great leader and one of the most competitive guys I've ever been around. He's not only a great person but someone who has all the qualities of someone you'd like to consider a friend.

"He worked hard, was super competitive and not only got the most out of himself but he also brought out the best in every player around him," Campbell added. "He had the mental makeup to make himself great which translates to any sport."
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Kyman said he had many highlights during his CSUN volleyball career but one, in particular, stood out.

"In 1992, what was dubbed 'All-Star Weekend,' we swept undefeated and defending national champions Long Beach State in front of a sold-out crowd at The Matadome," he said. "Baseball also swept nationally-ranked Hawaii at home and softball swept highly-ranked Fresno State. It is still one of the best weekends of my life."

Kyman, one of three CSUN men's volleyball players in the Matador Hall of Fame, was inducted by McGee in 2004.

"Being inducted into the Hall of Fame, being a three-time, first-team All American and the CSUN Male Athlete of the Year are things I am very proud of," said Kyman.

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Matador Hall of Fame Spotlight: Coley Kyman

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