Colgate Head Volleyball Coach Ryan Baker announced the addition of Aris Bird to his staff as an assistant coach in August 2021.
The Raiders have reached new heights since Bird arrived as an assistant coach. During her first two years in her post, Colgate has secured back-to-back 20-win seasons along with two Patriot League championships and NCAA tournament appearances. She has aided in the development of a Patriot League Player of the Year, a Setter of the Year, a Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and several All-Patriot League and All-Region honorees.
Bird comes to Colgate after serving as the head volleyball coach at nearby Utica since 2013. During her tenure with the Pioneers, Bird compiled 44 wins while mentoring several All-Conference and Academic honorees, including 14 Empire 8 President's List selections. Additionally, two school records were broken (assists and kills), UC defeated Elmira for the first time in program history, St. John Fisher for the first time in 15 years and recently advanced to the Empire 8 playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Bird, who played four years of volleyball at Niagara, has coached volleyball in different capacities at Granville High School (2008-2011), Herkimer County Community College (2012) and Dolgeville High School (2007-2013).
She held a position as an Algebra teacher at Dolgeville and also taught middle school math at Granville for four years. She currently is the Assistant Director of the National Reporting Service for New York State.
As a student-athlete at Niagara, she helped contribute to Niagara's 36 victories over the course of her career, including a 16-win season as a sophomore where the Purple Eagles advanced as far as the semifinals of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.
She was a 2006 MAAC All-Academic Team selection after posting the second highest cumulative grade point average on the team (3.75). She helped to build the foundation for a program that has advanced to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments (2010, 2011 & 2012).
Bird graduated from Niagara in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in Math Education and she was a member of Kappa Mu Epsilon (Mathematic Honor Society). In 2010 she earned a master's in mathematics (6-8) from Walden University and in 2014 she earned a second master's in coaching and athletic administration at Concordia University.
Bird currently resides in Raquette Lake, N.Y., with her husband Mark and daughter Bayli.
