Ithaca College Athletics announced March 18 that longtime volleyball head coach Johan Dulfer has decided to retire.

Dulfer, who recently led the team to a 27–5 record and a Liberty League Championship in 2023, will officially leave the team as of May 17.

Susan Bassett ’79, associate vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics, thanked Dulfer for his work with the volleyball program and said it is a bittersweet day for the program.

“It is with mixed emotions that I accept [Dulfer’s] retirement plan,” Bassett said in the statement. “With both deep appreciation for his leadership of Ithaca College women’s volleyball for the past eight years and sadness to see him go.”

Dulfer began his coaching career in his home country, the Netherlands, as the head volleyball coach at the University of Groningen in 1998. Dulfer moved to the United States to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Minnesota, where he would serve as a student assistant volleyball coach from 2001 to 2003. 

Dulfer quickly took another Division l coaching opportunity after his graduation from the University of Minnesota and took an assistant coaching job at James Madison University where he coached until 2006.

Dulfer’s final stop before coming to the South Hill would be a nine season tenure as head coach of the Clarkson University Golden Knights. Dulfer made six consecutive NCAA tournament appearances with the Golden Knights and won four Liberty League championships. Dulfer also continued his love of coaching while at Clarkson, publishing the book “A Program with Purpose: Thoughts on Building a Successful Volleyball Program,” in 2013.

After his tenure with the Golden Knights, Dulfer took the head volleyball job at Ithaca College in 2016 and maintained the program’s dominance, posting a 27–6 record and delivering an Empire 8 championship.

Dulfer’s illustrious career saw him guide the Bombers to a NCAA Championships tournament appearance in every season of his tenure and win one Empire 8 title and two Liberty League titles. The team reached the NCAA final four for only its third time in program history under his watch.

All together, Dulfer led the Bombers to a 161–58 record over seven seasons with the Bombers. Dulfer was a mainstay of the Liberty League and was recognized as its coach of the year four times, including in his final season.

Dulfer will retire with an overall record of 431–173 as a head coach in NCAA play. Dulfer said nothing can compare to being a college coach and he will always cherish his memories of it.

“For 21 years I’ve been a collegiate coach and there’s truly nothing like it,” Dulfer said in the statement. “I’ll never forget the highs [and some of the lows] and the wonderful people I’ve met along the way. Administrators, assistant coaches, GA’s – the support my athletes have received over the years has been amazing.”

Senior middle/right side Jamie Koopman said Dulfer’s retirement was unexpected but that he made a difference in the development of everyone on the team. Koopman gave credit to Dulfer’s coaching and said the attitude of the program was built because of Dulfer.

“Everything that my team and I have accomplished stems from the culture he has built for this program and stems from the accountability he puts on his players,” Koopman said via email. “This kind of responsibility and trust, builds team strength and team loyalty.”

With the program now set for a new era, Dulfer said he believes he has left the program in a great state for the next coach behind him.

“I believe that the team I’m leaving behind, along with the amazing recruiting class coming in, is primed for unparalleled success in the years to come,” Dulfer said in the statement. “It fills me with pride to leave the program in a great position for success and I’ll be cheering for the Bombers from the sidelines. Avery, Liam, Logan and I will forever be Bombers.”

Koopman reiterated the culture Dulfer had built and said because of Dulfer, the team will have a bond for life.

“Coach gave me my best friends,” Koopman said via email. “He is very good at his job and he somehow recruits the same type of person in different fonts from different states. These are girls that will be in my life forever and I know everyone on the team would agree with me when I say, he somehow hand-picked all my best friends.”

Dulfer leaves the program after coaching volleyball for 21 years of his professional life. Dulfer said he is retiring to explore other career opportunities outside of coaching. 

“I’ll never forget the successes we celebrated on the court but most importantly, the shared experiences and relationships we created,” Dulfer said in the statement. “I feel it is now time to focus on my family and health as I pursue other opportunities.”

The college announced it will immediately begin a national search for a new head coach as Dulfer serves out the remainder of the academic year.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article said Dulfer began coaching the Bombers in 2014 and had won two Empire 8 championships.