MARILYN WEISS
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Sport: Director of Woman’s Athletics/Basketball, Volleyball, Track Coach
Years: 1975-81
Marilyn Weiss (We-ss) served as Utah State’s Director of Women’s Athletics from 1975 to 1981. During that time, she also served as USU’s women’s basketball coach, USU’s volleyball coach and its women’s track coach. As Utah State’s Director of Women’s Athletics, Weiss oversaw six programs (basketball, gymnastics, softball, volleyball, and track & field/cross country). In 1976, she hired Mary Jo Peppler and Marilyn McReavy as co-head coaches of the volleyball program, and then hired Ray Corn and John Horan as head coaches for the gymnastics and softball programs, respectively, the following year. Shortly thereafter, the volleyball program won the AIAW National Championship in 1978 and finished as the national runner-up in 1979, while the softball program won back-to-back AIAW National Championships in 1980 and 1981, under the direction of first-year head coach Kelly Phipps (1980) and Lloydene Searle (1981), both of whom were hired by Weiss. Searle spent 17 years as USU’s head coach and led the Aggies to five conference championships and to the Women's College World Series five times. Furthermore, the gymnastics program went from club status to a nationally ranked program during Corn’s 31 years as he led the Aggies to the postseason 26 times, including five trips to the national championships. Another significant hire for Weiss was Lyle Knudson as head coach of the women’s track & field/ cross country programs in 1977. Knudson, who was recognized as a top-level national coach for many Olympic athletes, was instrumental in bringing regional and national recognition to the program. Following her time at Utah State, Weiss continued to impact women’s collegiate athletics at the University of Florida, before forming a successful sporting goods sales agency in Texas for 35 years.
