Head Coach Margo Linton

Margo Linton office: 207-755-5954 email: mlinton@bates.edu

Bates College appointed former Bowdoin standout, Connecticut College assistant and Andrew College head coach Margo Linton as the 11th head coach in the 45-year history of its varsity women’s volleyball team in June of 2011.

Linton succeeded Brett Allen, who coached Bates’ volleyball team since the 2004 season and remains the head coach of the Bobcats’ women’s lacrosse team.

“I am most pleased to welcome Margo to Bates as the leader of our proud volleyball program,” said Director of Athletics Kevin McHugh. “The search committee did an excellent job, and was unanimously in favor of her selection. They and I firmly believe that the combination of Margo’s playing and coaching background; her extensive recruiting experience and intimate knowledge of the NESCAC, as both a player and a coach; and her general volleyball knowledge and commitment to the sport make her the clear choice to lead the program.”

A 2008 graduate of Bowdoin, where she set career records in assists and service aces, Linton spent the 2010-11 academic year as the first head volleyball coach at Andrew College in Cuthbert, Ga., a program she started and developed while also coaching the Columbus Juniors Volleyball Club’s 18 and under team this past winter and spring.

In the two years prior, she served as assistant coach at Connecticut College, helping the Camels finish 18-12 in 2008, followed by a 22-6 season in 2009, including an 8-2 conference record that tied the team for first place in the NESCAC in the regular season. At Bowdoin, Linton was named the Polar Bears’ Rookie of the Year in the 2004 season, won four varsity letters as a setter, and served as the team’s co-captain in the 2007 season. She remains Bowdoin’s career leader in assists (3,215) and aces (191).

Originally from Menlo Park, California, Linton played at Menlo-Atherton High School. After earning her bachelor’s degree as a mathematics major and teaching minor at Bowdoin, Linton received a master’s degree in secondary education at Eastern Connecticut State University in 2010. Linton is a USA Volleyball CAP I coach and actively involved in the USA Volleyball High Performance program.