Rita Schroeder, longtime Spartan volleyball coach, SWCC graduate, and student-athlete, was inducted into Southwestern’s Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Sat., January 23, 2016, at 2:30 p.m., prior to the men’s basketball game vs Iowa Lakes, in the college’s Student Center gymnasium.

Just a mention of Southwestern Community College’s volleyball program and Coach Rita Schroeder’s name is sure to come up—in fact, Southwestern’s home court was named after the longtime Spartan coach in 2012. 

During her time at Southwestern, Schroeder built a volleyball empire, respected throughout the nation for her players’ athletic tenacity and academic integrity.  Schroeder, who hailed from the small Iowa town of McClelland, Iowa, was a May 1980 graduate of Treynor High School.  She first walked the halls of Southwestern from 1980 to 1982 as a student-athlete.  Ironically, during her college years at Southwestern, she didn’t touch a volleyball.  She was recruited to play basketball for Coach Betty Gaule and also helped Ron “Fox” Clinton as a student assistant with softball.  She graduated from Southwestern in May 1982 with her associate’s degree and from Simpson College in Indianola in 1984 with her bachelor’s degree. 

Schroeder obviously made an impression during her time at Southwestern.  It was Clinton who persuaded her to return to Southwestern.  According to Schroeder, following her graduation from Simpson, she returned to Treynor and one day Clinton showed up on her doorstep in a cowboy hat and boots and asked her to come back to Southwestern to be his basketball assistant. 

It was 1985 when Schroeder returned to Southwestern with a host of coaching duties—assistant basketball and softball coach under the direction of Clinton and assistant volleyball coach under Head Coach Sarah Funderburk.  After one season, Funderburk resigned and Clinton asked Schroeder to take over the reins of the volleyball program.  She said at that point Clinton had more confidence in her than she had in herself.  From that time on, she considered "Fox" her most valued mentor for the entirety of her coaching career. 

Schroeder served at the helm of the Spartan volleyball program from 1986-2009.  From 2010-12, she served as an assistant coach, most recently under the direction of her former player Melissa Blessington, now head coach at Ottawa University in Kansas.  Blessington nominated Schroeder for the prestigious honor she is receiving today.

Under Schroeder’s guidance, the Spartans boasted a record of 705-372.  They competed in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship five times—in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1999.  In 1999, the Spartans finished third in the NJCAA D-II National Championships. 

One of Coach Schroeder’s greatest memories coaching came during the 1988 Region XI championship match.  According to Schroeder, the Spartans were down 0-2 in the match and came back to win the next three sets earning their first trip to the NJCAA National Championships in Miami, FL.

“I really think that win set the stage for our program’s future, our quest to be stronger, and to contend for more championships,” said Schroeder.  “Strong recruiting makes championships possible and championships help coaches recruit.”

In 2009, Schroeder’s 700-win coaching record helped her rank as one of the top five active coaches for winning records in Division II of the NJCAA and as the highest ranking active volleyball coach in the state of Iowa.  Schroeder coached nine All-Americans and close to 100 all-region players during her college coaching career.

In November 2014, Schroeder was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Fame during a ceremony held during the NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championships in Phoenix, AZ.

As players, Blessington said they always knew Schroeder’s toughness came from a place of love.

“Rita genuinely cared about every player from the best to the worst,” Blessington explained.  “She wanted to get the best out of you and wanted you to learn to accept nothing but the best from yourself.”

As a coach, Schroeder was adamant that academics be important to her student-athletes.  During Schroeder’s tenure, her teams earned 10 NJCAA team academic awards and 10 American Volleyball Coaches Association awards.  In 1993, the team had a 3.4 grade point average, which ranked them first in the country with the NJCAA.

According to Blessington, Coach Schroeder was really a pioneer for volleyball in southwest Iowa.  Blessington said her coaching ran much deeper than the college level.  Schroeder started a high school club team in 1988 and ran it for almost 15 years.  Blessington said Schroeder spent countless hours coaching club and was never paid for her time. 

“Rita felt getting volleyball started and thriving in southwest Iowa was more important than money,” stated Blessington.  “She focused on teaching quality fundamentals to girls and giving them the dream to one day play in college.”

Schroeder’s club team, the Southwestern Juniors, had two top six finishes in the 18 and under Iowa regionals.  In 1993, she was named the Cornbelt Outstanding Junior Volleyball Program Director, and in 1994 she was named the Cornbelt Female Coach of the Year.

In addition to her coaching duties at Southwestern, Schroeder was also an admissions representative.  She now lives in Mooresville, NC, with Leslie Atkinson, where she continues to follow volleyball and mentor new coaches.

Following her induction, Coach Rita Schroeder became the third inductee in Southwestern’s Athletic Hall of Fame, joining the ranks of Ron “Fox” Clinton, retired SWCC athletic director, coach, and instructor, who was the first Hall of Fame inductee in March 2013, and Bill Krejci, longtime SWCC athletic director/athletic fundraiser, coach, and instructor, who was inducted in December 2014.