Entering her 21st season at the helm of the Lady Bears program, head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier has come to define Morgan State volleyball. Coach Bozier is easily one of the most decorated coaches in the history of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and is one of the most accomplished coaches in any sport in the history of Morgan State athletics. In 2004, Bozier, the winningest coach at MSU (344-265) earned her 300th career victory, following a 3-1 defeat of St. Francis-Pa. on Oct. 9.
Last season she guided the Lady Bears to an impressive 23-9 overall mark, including a 9-1 MEAC slate and a runner-up finish in the title match, while earning her fifth MEAC Coach of the Year honor. The 23 wins rank fourth on the charts and was the program’s 10th 20-win season.
Coach Bozier, whose favorite quote is “Just Do It,” continues to carry the same drive, passion and competitive spirit into this season that she’s had since she came to MSU as a student-athlete in the 80s.
In 2007, she will lead a team which returns nine letterwinners, including six seniors, a junior and two sophomores from last year’s squad which fell short of a sixth MEAC title, after losing to Florida A&M in three games in the title match. Coach Bozier is determined to get the best out of her student-athletes both in the classroom and on the volleyball court. She is the kind of coach who genuinely cares about the overall development of the person, not just the development of the volleyball player. She cares as much and more about how well an athlete is doing in the classroom as she does about how well that athlete may be performing on the volleyball court.
Bozier is tough, but fair. She demands a commitment, but doesn’t forget it’s important to have fun. But above and beyond anything else, Bozier
believes in team. Coach Bozier has always felt that the program can only prosper if each member of the team contributes. That team concept starts with the coach and filters through every player on the squad.
Her 344 wins, five MEAC Championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and five MEAC Coach of the Year honors only begin to tell the story of Coach Bozier.
In 1988 she got a call from former Director of Athletics Leonard Braxton, asking if she would be interested in coaching the volleyball team. She agreed to come aboard but inherited a volleyball program that was struggling. MSU volleyball was not only one of the worst teams in the MEAC, but the Lady Bears had become one of the lower rated programs in the nation.
The ship needed a captain to turn things around and that captain would have to do it with minimal resources. Coach Bozier knew it was not going to be easy, but she also knew she could do it. Bozier went to work focused on transforming Morgan State volleyball into a powerhouse program. It didn’t take long for the “Mona Magic” to begin reaping results. Those results have been nothing less than stunning.
Morgan State captured its first MEAC crown in 1992. That was followed by championships in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. (The Lady Bears were awarded the 1999 title after the MEAC rescinded Florida A&M’s championship in the wake of NCAA violations).
The 1997 championship team was a history making contingent. After capturing the conference crown, they went on to defeat Grambling State in an NCAA Play-In match. That victory earned the Lady Bears the distinction of becoming the first Historically Black College or University to earn a trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
When the Lady Bears stepped on the floor on December 8, 1997, in Los Angeles, Calif., to take on USC, they not only made history, but they also made Morgan proud. Morgan State pushed the nationally ranked “Women of Troy” in an inspiring performance before falling to what was the 8th ranked team in the nation.
Coach Bozier is not comfortable with resting on laurels. While she was proud of what her team accomplished in ‘97, she wanted to continue to push the program to higher limits. The Lady Bears went on to collect MEAC titles in both ‘98 and 2000 and represented the MEAC in the NCAA Tournament on both occasions.
The Lady Bears have been a particularly dominant force in the MEAC’s North Division. Morgan State won 88 consecutive MEAC North Division matches between 1994 and 2003. The string was broken when MSU suffered two defeats to the Lady Hawks of the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore during the 2003 campaign.
Coach Bozier has played a prominent role in the development of some exceptional volleyball talent at Morgan State. Some of the more outstanding student-athletes who have excelled under her tutelage include; Kim Wood (91-94), Kim Spotswood (91-92), Ja Nina Lee (94-98), Jakaria Stewart (94-97), Malia Price (96-97), Monica Scott (95-98) and Tiffany Pickens (95-98).
In recent years, Coach Bozier has assisted in the nurturing of All-MEAC players like; Yolanda McGirt (99-02), Tiffany Sebree (99-02), Destiny Sisk (99-02), Java Johnson (99-00), Tasha Neal (00-03) and Tiffany Oliver (01-03), who was selected to train with the A2 National Team, as well as current All-MEAC players like seniors Ashley Preston and Esther Johnson and 2006 MEAC Rookie of the Year, Ivanti Bush.
During her undergraduate day, Bozier was a two-sport star. She shined for the Lady Bears on the volleyball court and on the track. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, she came to Morgan State after transferring from the University of Missouri and made an immediate splash for MSU.
Bozier was a key component of the record setting relay teams that turned heads in the national track community. Bozier, who was a three-time All-American and a top performer in the MEAC, recorded personal-bests in the 100 meter dash (11.2) and the 200 meter dash (23.8). She also became one of the top triple jumpers for Morgan with a career-best jump of 36’11.
Bozier ran the first leg on Morgan State’s 4x100 meter relay team which in 1986 set the school record, burning up the track in a time of 44.47 seconds. That record still stands today. The squad also won the Penn Relays and finished second that year at the Division I National Championships.
Bozier also holds the UMBC Meet record in the 60 meter dash, which she set in 1983. That record still stands.
Her athletic gifts were not limited to the track. She was also an enormously talented volleyball player during her days at Morgan State. Bozier is one of only nine volleyball players in the history of the program to have registered 1,000 career kills.
In addition to her volleyball coaching responsibilities, Bozier was also the softball coach at Morgan State for seven seasons. In 1999 she led the Lady Bear softball team to their only appearance in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference softball championship game.
While proud of her athletic and coaching accomplishments, Bozier is very proud to have seen her daughter, Dominique Nicole graduate from high school a year ago and select to attend Morgan State.
Coach Bozier resides in Harford County, Md. with her husband Jeff, and their children Dominique Nicole (19) and Jeff Jr. (15).
