An outstanding SUNY Cortland student-athlete as women's intercollegiate competition emerged in the 1970's, Theresa Tiso '74 has distinguished herself as a highly successful head volleyball coach and physical educator at SUNY Stony Brook. In her 19 years as Stony Brook head coach, Tiso's volleyball squads won a phenomenal 71 percent of their matches. Her 677-275 record ranks Tiso among the Top 10 winningest collegiate volleyball coaches. Tiso's success has remained unchanged as Stony Brook moved from NCAA Division III to Division II in 1995 and to Division I in 1999.
During her first season in 1981, Stony Brook won the first of three New York State championships. Between 1992-94, Tiso directed her squads to three consecutive NCAA Division III Northeast Regional crowns. In 1992, the team placed third in the nation and had the Co-National Player of the Year. Tiso led Stony Brook to the New England Collegiate Conference finals during all four years of NCAA Division II play between 1995-98. She capped off that streak by ending New Haven's 14-year streak as league champs. Her teams were undefeated in NCAA Regional play in both 1997 and 1998. Twice voted New York State Volleyball Coach of the Year, she was NCAA Regional Coach of the Year in 1997 and seven-time Stony Brook Female Coach of the Year.
A native of New Windsor, N.Y., Tiso attended Newburgh Free Academy. At SUNY Cortland, she was a setter for three volleyball seasons and team captain in 1974. Cortland won two New York State AIAW titles, placed in the top three regionally and qualified for nationals. Tiso competed on the track club and, in 1974, captained the first-ever varsity Red Dragon women's outdoor track squad. She set school records and qualified for nationals in the 800 meters and running the 400-meter leg of the medley relay. She also set the school mark in the mile. A resident assistant in Bishop Hall, Tiso was vice president and social director of Theta Phi sorority. She studied abroad in 1973 at the Deutsche Sporthochschule in Cologne, Germany. At SUNY Cortland, Tiso earned bachelor's and master's degrees in physical education, as well as New York State health certification.
From 1974-81, Tiso was an instructor and successful head women's volleyball and softball coach at Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) in Herkimer, N.Y. In 1984, Tiso qualified for the first-ever women's marathon Olympic trials in Olympia, Wa. During the early 1980's, she won many races nationally as a member of the New York City based Atlanta Women's Elite Racing Team. She founded the Everywomen's Track Club and the Women's Day Five, a five-mile race, in Utica, N.Y.
