Jim Lodes enters his 18th season as head coach of the RIT women’s volleyball program in 2022. The winningest coach in program history (381-219) has enjoyed two tenures as head coach at RIT, first from 1991-95 and from 2010 to the present.

Lodes guided his 2021 squad to a 25-5 record, including an unbeaten 7-0 Liberty League record for the first time in program history before receiving an at-large bid to the program's 12th NCAA Division III Tournament. Seeded first in the region and awarded one of the tournament's eight Regional Championship sites, the Tigers defeated Framingham State in the opening round before falling to Wesleyan in the regional semifinals. 

Three players were named All-American, including third-team honoree Katie Hobler, along with honorable-mention picks Taylor Higgins and Sydney Neff. The Liberty League also selected RIT as the Coaching Staff of the Year. 
 
Lodes was named the 2018 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) New York Region Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to a 29-5 record, including the program's first Liberty League Championship, as well as the first NCAA Tournament showing since 2007. 
 
Hobler was named an AVCA Third-Team All-American as well as Liberty League First-Team All-Conference and Rookie of the Year, while Erin Parkinson was an Honorable Mention All-American. Parkinson also joined Taylor Higgins on the Liberty League second-team.
 
In 2014, Lodes led the squad to its first Liberty League Championship match, recording 22 wins. Lodes recruited and coached 2017 graduate Sarah Szybist, a four-time AVCA All-American, 2017 RIT Senior Female Athlete of the Year and 2016 CoSIDA Volleyball Academic All-America of the Year. She finished sixth in Division III history wth 2,563 career kills.
 
Lodes has helped continue the great success the program has enjoyed in the classroom. Last year, RIT earned its sixth concecutive AVCA Team Academic Award, while 10 players earned Liberty League All-Academic Team honors. Hobler became the seventh Tiger in program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors over the last nine seasons, and joined Suzanne Jokajtys, Cat Sullivan, Szybist (three times) and Kayla Wheeler (twice) in garnering CoSIDA Academic All-America.

In his first stint at RIT, Lodes led the Tigers to the NCAA Division III National Semifinals and a third-place finish in 1993. He coached three AVCA All-Americans (Liang Gaik Khaw, Kris Gray, and Jen Polo) and three GTE Academic All-Americans (Liang Gaik Khaw, Kris Gray, and Lucy Emberg). He led the Tigers to three Empire Athletic Association titles in 1991, 1992, and 1993 and the New York State Championship in 1991 and 1993.

Before returning to RIT, Lodes spent four years as the head coach at the University at Buffalo, helping the Bulls to a then school record 10 consecutive Division I wins in 2006 and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award in 2007 and 2008.

Prior to Buffalo, Lodes was an assistant at D1 North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels reach the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals and a No. 12 final national ranking in 2002. He was also the head coach at both Lees-McRae College, where his teams won the Carolinas-Virginia Conference regular season and tournament championships both seasons (2000 and 2001), and his alma mater SUNY Brockport, where they were SUNYAC finalists in 1999.

He has worked with the Primo and Volley FX Junior Olympic girls teams, the Pace Bootlegger Junior Olympic boys team, served as a clinician, coached several area high school teams, and is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
 
On Oct. 20, 2012, Lodes won his 232nd match as head coach at RIT in a victory over St. Lawrence, surpassing the previous record of 231, held by Roger Worsley. Lodes earned his 300th win at the university on Sept. 17, 2016. On Oct. 4, 2014, Lodes reached the 400-win milestone for his overall career, as RIT defeated the University of Pittsburgh Bradford.  Lodes is 466-430 in his coaching career, spanning all three Divisions and five schools.

Lodes graduated from Brockport in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and sports management. He currently lives in West Henrietta.