Nothing I Can’t Do: Coach Geri Polvino’s Lasting Legacy at EKU

In 32 years as EKU’s volleyball coach, Polvino built a championship program, but her greatest achievement is the confidence she instilled in the women she coached. Her unwavering support for EKU students earned her recognition as the 2026 Philanthropist of the Year.

Dr. Geri Polvino moved to Richmond from Rochester, New York, in 1965. 

“When I first drove through Richmond, I had only seen that kind of main street on television … in the Wild West shows,” she said.

Polvino came to Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) as a graduate assistant in the physical education department. Back in New York, Polvino had played basketball and volleyball and pitched fast-pitch softball.

“Volleyball was my least favorite sport,” she admitted. In a beautiful twist of fate, she ended up coaching the sport at EKU for more than 30 years. Before Polvino arrived, EKU’s Volleyball teams were composed of the top intramural players at the school.

“Volleyball at EKU had a culture of winning way before I came here,” Polvino said. “I just expanded on it.”

A data-driven learner, Polvino immediately set about consuming all the data she could about volleyball and its athletes and attending volleyball clinics around the country. 

“I thought: ‘If I’m going to do this sport, I need to learn more about it,’” she said. “And I had to understand the young women who loved the sport.”

Early in her career, she packed up her entire team and drove them to a volleyball camp in California, camping along the way to save money.

“It was an adventure,” Polvino said. “When I look back on the things we did, I think, ‘How did we have the courage to do those things?’” 

But courage was exactly what Polvino tried to instill in players. 

“For me, it became about giving young women the confidence that they could do anything they wanted to do. To go beyond winning,” Polvino said.

Still, there was a lot of winning involved. In her 32 years at the helm of EKU’s Volleyball program, Polvino won 627 games while leading the Colonels to nine regular-season conference championships and eight league tournament titles. She earned a league-record eight Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Coach of the Year awards.

Polvino was selected as a member of the inaugural class of the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame and became the first volleyball coach inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame. As one of the sport’s most respected authorities, she served as president of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports Coaches Academy and became the first certified female instructor in the International Volleyball Federation.

Despite all the statistics and accolades, Polvino derived the most pride from watching her former players become successful women after college.

“When I was growing up, as a woman, there were very limited opportunities,” she said. “Look how far we’ve come.”

Reflecting on the accomplishments of the women she coached, Polvino said, “To see where they started and where they are now, there are no words to explain how proud I am. It’s like watching your kids achieve something that you knew they were capable of doing, but did they know that they were capable of doing? That’s what you do, you instill that mindset: ‘There’s nothing I can’t do.’”

Not only does Polvino encourage with words, but her transformational support for students speaks volumes. She has funded scholarships, student programs, facility improvements and recently, a study abroad opportunity in Europe for the entire EKU Volleyball team. On Giving Day 2026, she endowed the Colonel’s Cupboard, driven by a desire to help students facing food insecurity. 

In recognition of her steadfast commitment to others, EKU proudly named her the 2026 Philanthropist of the Year at the annual Celebration of Philanthropy in September.