Over three months ago, the Indiana Daily Student published an investigation on Indiana volleyball head coach Steve Aird, detailing a program built around punishment, rife with mental abuse and where players say mental health concerns were regularly dismissed.
Ahead of Indiana’s season opener Friday and despite four of IU's volleyball players speaking out anonymously, Indiana Athletics has not publicized any statement or announced any disciplinary action against Aird.
The IDS asked Indiana Athletics what changes have been made within the program or if any disciplinary action had been taken. In response, Indiana Athletics released this statement in regards to concerns raised by the student athletes.
“We immediately shared them with the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel, which conducted an extensive and thorough review of all claims brought to our attention,” a department spokesperson said in a statement. “We have implemented all of the recommendations with the full cooperation of coach Aird. It is important to note that the review did determine that the department and its staff members handled and reported all claims appropriately, and as we do with all teams here at Indiana, we continue to monitor the situation.”
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The IDS initially reported an internal IU investigation into Aird’s behavior, which opened in December 2021, was cut short in January of this year. The department released an initial statement for the story saying all recommendations were implemented with Aird’s cooperation.
Those who played under Aird described him as a businessman, giving them a false sales pitch on the experience of playing for him. Practices were run to the point of exhaustion, and players were often punished for small mistakes. Players described their play getting worse instead of getting better.
The players claimed their mental health concerns were dismissed and that the university cared more about its public image than their mental health.
At the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Media Days in August, Aird made his first public comments since the IDS published its investigation. Due to scheduling conflicts, the IDS did not attend Big Ten Media Days.
However, no questions were asked about the allegations made in the article. Aird’s comments did not mention any of the claims or suggest he was working to improve the environment. Instead, he brought up a common theme over the past few years of the Hoosiers being a young team.
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Over his four years coaching Indiana, the program has experienced a high turnover rate. Of Aird’s 25 different players, 15 have left the program before finishing their eligibility either by transferring, being kicked off the team or quitting volleyball altogether.
The turnover rate has kept the Hoosiers young and inexperienced, making it tougher for the team to compete in the Big Ten.
Indiana’s record has also gotten worse over Aird’s first four seasons. In 2018, he produced his only winning record at Indiana, going 16-15, but the Hoosiers dropped to 14-19 in 2019 before producing a 5-15 record in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. They went 10-22 in 2021 and won four Big Ten games.
More players will return this year than any under Aird. Only four players from last season left the team while 14 stayed.
The team’s only new players were both signed internationally. The Hoosiers added Candela Alonso-Corcelles, an outside hitter from Madrid, Spain, and Melisa Ilter, an opposite hitter from Bursa, Turkey. The 2022 class originally included one other freshman recruit, who decommitted before signing with Penn State.
