Bio

Jane Passa will enter her 28th season as head coach of the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) volleyball program in 2026, continuing one of the most successful coaching tenures in NJCAA history.

In June 2025, Coach Passa was honored with the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award, recognizing her as one of the all-time winningest coaches in NJCAA history. She owns an outstanding career record of 727–270, highlighted by 25 consecutive winning seasons and 26 seasons with 20 or more wins. During her tenure in Wahpeton, Passa has guided the Wildcats to one 40-win season and four 30-win seasons, while compiling a dominant 280–44 record at Ed Werre Arena.

The Wildcats concluded the 2025 season as Mon-Dak Conference Champions and Region XIII Champions, adding to a long list of program achievements. Under Passa’s leadership, NDSCS has captured Mon-Dak Conference titles in
1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005–2012, 2014–2016, 2018, 2021 (COVID season), 2024, and 2025,
and Region XIII championships in 2001, 2007–2011, 2014–2016, 2018, 2020–2021 (COVID season), 2023–2025.

Passa led the Wildcats to their first NJCAA National Tournament appearance in 2001, where NDSCS finished as the NJCAA Division II National Runner-Up, while also claiming District G and Region XIII titles. Additional national tournament berths followed in 2007, 2018, and 2021, each season marked by conference, district, and regional championships.

Her excellence has been recognized repeatedly, as Passa has been named Mon-Dak Conference Coach of the Year fourteen times, including 2006–2012, 2014–2016, 2018, 2021 (COVID season), 2024, and 2025. She has also earned Region XIII Coach of the Year honors multiple times, along with District G, District O, and Northwest Plains District Coach of the Year awards.

Before arriving at NDSCS, Passa taught and coached at North Dakota State University, helping lead the Bison to a runner-up finish in the 1998 National Division II Collegiate Women’s Volleyball Tournament. She also served as an assistant coach at Minnesota State University Moorhead for two seasons. Passa earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota and her master’s degree from NDSU.

In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Passa serves as Program Coordinator for the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Department at NDSCS. She and her husband, Jayme, have two daughters.