KELOWNA, B.C. – Following a 25-year career on the sidelines with the women's volleyball team, UBCO Heat head coach Steve Manuel has announced that he will be retiring this summer.
 
Manuel, who joined the Okanagan University College (OUC) Lakers in 2001-02, leaves the university as the winningest coach in school history. During his tenure, he won a total of 446 games, including 291 in the regular season and 38 in the postseason and finishes his career with a sparkling .601 overall winning percentage.
 
"Steve's retirement marks the end of a remarkable chapter for UBCO Athletics and Recreation," said Dr. Dale Mullings, Associate Vice-President, Students at UBC Okanagan. "Over 25 years, he has built something that goes far beyond wins and losses; a program defined by integrity, care for the whole student-athlete, and a deep commitment to this community. Steve has shaped the lives of countless student-athletes, and the values he instilled in this program over the years will leave a lasting legacy. I want to thank him for his extraordinary dedication and wish him a well-deserved retirement."
 
"I am very grateful for the opportunities that UBCO & OUC have provided over the past 30 years," commented Manuel, who worked on various projects on campus starting in 1996 before becoming head coach in 2001. "I have been very fortunate to work with so many great people, colleagues, administrators, support staff, amazing coaches and outstanding community supporters during my career."

"I've also been extremely privileged to have worked with such amazing student-athletes and benefited from the dedication and hard work of all our assistant coaches over the years," continued Manuel. "I couldn't have done any of this without the support of my wife, Leanne, and my son Seba. The two of them inspire me to be better every day."
 
Upon joining OUC 25 years ago, Manuel quickly transformed women's volleyball into a national powerhouse in the BCCAA and the CCAA.
 
Over his first 10 seasons, the Lakers, and then Heat starting in 2008-09, medaled eight times at the BCCAA Championships, including winning three consecutive conference championships between 2009 and 2011. They would also win back-to-back CCAA Championships during the run, a remarkable stretch of dominance at the national level.
 
During those years, Manuel was named BCCAA Coach of the Year five times, CCAA Coach of the Year twice and received the CCAA Coaching Excellence Award in 2008-09 as the governing body's top coach across all sports.
 
When the Heat joined Canada West and U SPORTS in 2011-12, the success for Manuel and the women's volleyball program continued, quickly becoming one of the top programs in the country. Manuel was named Canada West and U SPORTS Coach of the Year in 2012-13, setting the stage for a run of success in which UBCO was ranked inside the U SPORTS Top 10 for five straight years and made five consecutive Canada West Final Four appearances.
 
The highlight in that stretch came in 2015-16 when the Heat won UBCO's first-ever Canada West medal, earning silver. They followed that up at the University's first-ever appearance at a U SPORTS Championship by defeating the UBC Thunderbirds 3-0 to win bronze, the first U SPORTS medal for the institution.
 
Subsequently, Manuel was honoured as both the Canada West and U SPORTS Coach of the Year for the second time.
 
As recognition for his career accolades, Manuel was inducted into the CCAA Hall of Fame last year.
 
"The timing is right for me to move on to this next chapter," said Manuel on why he decided to retire at this time. "The Heat women's volleyball team has an exciting mix of great returning players and we have recruited a number of incoming players who will make an impact in the future. It's also an exciting time for UBCO Athletics and Recreation as we have a new organizational structure, one that I believe will provide the leadership and opportunities for success for years to come."
 
With his departure, there will be two openings in the Department of Athletics and Recreation as Manuel has been serving as the Interim Director, Varsity Athletics over the past year. In this role, he helped navigate the department through a period of transition, culminating in the aforementioned revamped organizational structure that will be in place for the 2026-27 season.
 
HEAD COACH & GENERAL MANAGER – WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
 
DIRECTOR, ATHLETICS AND RECREATION – VARSITY ATHLETICS
 
OVERALL HEAD COACHING RECORD (CCAA & U SPORTS)
446-295 (291-191 regular season)
 
ACCOLADES
-2x U SPORTS Coach of the Year
-2x CCAA Coach of the Year
-CCAA Coaching Excellence Award (2008-09)
-2x Canada West Coach of the Year
-5x BCCAA Coach of the Year
-U SPORTS Bronze Medal (2015-16)
-Canada West Silver Medal (2015-16)
-5 consecutive Canada West Final Four appearances
-2x CCAA Champion
-3x BCCAA Champion