After going 27-7 this season, Dave Shondell received a pay raise and an extension that will keep him at Purdue through 2029.
WEST LAFAYETTE − Following an Elite Eight loss to Pitt on Dec. 13, Dave Shondell was asked by the Journal & Courier how this season had reinvigorated him.
Shondell responded it reinvigorated him so much he signed a new four-year contract with Purdue volleyball.
The details of that contract are now known and voids the final two years of his previous contract. The new deal offers a pay raise and keeps him under contract through the 2029 season, when Shondell would be 71 years old.
The base salary under Shondell's new deal is $425,000 in 2026 and '27 and increases to $450,000 in 2028 and '29. Shondell was previously scheduled to receive a base pay of $375,000 through 2027 based on a four-year contract he signed in December 2023. The new contract also provides a $50,000 bonus if Shondell is employed by Purdue on July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2029.
Purdue hired Shondell in 2002 from Muncie Central High School to take over a program that finished last in the Big Ten in 2001 and 10th out of 11 in the conference in 2002. In just his second season, Shondell led the Boilermakers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1990.
The Boilermakers have been in the NCAA Tournament 20 times in the past 22 seasons, advancing to the second round in each of them. Purdue went 27-7 this season and advanced to the regional final, a surprising run after Purdue lost four probable starters to the transfer portal, including Eva Hudson and Lizzie Carr, who've helped Kentucky reach this season's national championship.
The departures had Shondell briefly questioning coming back.
It marked Purdue's fifth Elite Eight appearance under Shondell, and third in the past seven seasons. The 2025 campaign was rewarded with assistant coach Kathy Jewell, who has been at Purdue alongside Shondell for all 23 of his seasons as head coach, being named American Volleyball Coaches Association National Assistant Coach of the Year. It also included All-American honors for outside hitter Kenna Wollard and setter Taylor Anderson (second team) and opposite Grace Heaney (third team), the 21st, 22nd and 23rd All-Americans at Purdue under Shondell's guidance. It's the second straight season Purdue had three AVCA All-Americans after Hudson, Raven Colvin (now with Major League Volleyball's Grand Rapids Rise) and Chloe Chicoine (transferred to Louisville) were honored in 2024.
Shondell enters the 2026 season tied with Gene Keady for most wins in Purdue history regardless of sport. Shondell is 512-240 in 23 seasons.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Details for Purdue volleyball coach Dave Shondell's new contract
Category: General Sports
