Bisons women’s volleyball head coach Ken Bentley stepped into his role for the team in the 1986-87 season at just 23 years old, full of ambition. Entering his fourth decade with the Bisons, he is one of the most accomplished coaches in the Canadian university sport, guiding the Bisons to 11 national finals and winning seven (1990, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2014, 2025).
Ken Bentley was born in Winnipeg. He graduated high school from Murdoch MacKay Collegiate and completed his post-secondary studies at the U of M. “The simple goal was just a win,” Bentley said of his first years with the team.
Coaching at the university level required more than just knowledge about volleyball. “I certainly didn’t realize the breadth of the responsibility [as] a university coach,” he said. “Obviously, as time goes on, your goals broaden […] In the short-term I just wanted to try it out, keep winning.”
Bentley found success in rebuilding competitive teams across multiple generations, adapting to changes in the sport while maintaining a consistent culture. “Strong recruiting, getting really good people, great student athletes and then obviously retaining those players too [is key],” he said. “Your retention rate is critical, and that’s a big challenge for any university coach […] They [the players] have to be happy more often than they’re not.”
His hard work has not gone unnoticed. Bentley was named coach of the year by U Sports twice, in 1991–92 and 2006–07. “It’s obviously a reflection of the totality of the work that we’re doing,” he said. “I never set out [at] the start [of] the year [saying], ‘I wanna be coach of the year.’”
In 2014, Bentley reached 1,000 career wins, a milestone only a few Canadian coaches reach. He was the first Canadian women’s volleyball coach at the university level to achieve this. Bentley recalls the grind more than the glory. “I don’t think of the wins as much as I think about all the late nights […] when really nobody’s watching and you’re grinding it out,” he added, “You don’t get to 1,000 [wins] without winning those matches when no one else is around.”
Team culture has been central to his long-term success. He noted “no one person is bigger than the team […] We fight hard for each other, not against each other.”
Bentley remembered the moment he learned he got the job back in 1986, and the small celebration that followed. He said, “I just couldn’t believe someone was going to pay me to coach.” With his first paycheque, he added, “I bought my parents Chinese food [to] pay [them] back in some small measure.”
Across several decades from the sideline, certain seasons stand out for Bentley, though he hesitated to rank them. “Each championship was incredibly […] different,” he said.
Bentley happily shared that winning championships hosted at the U of M were special to him. This happened twice, in 2000-01 and 2024-25.
