A Family Reunion On and Off the Court

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Jason Mansfield had an idea. The Mansfields had a single pair of old boxing gloves. Jason was 14 years old. Aaron was 8. Jason and Aaron agreed to fight. Jason took the right boxing glove. He gave Aaron the left glove. Jason whipped Aaron. It was big brother besting younger brother in their home in Sunnyvale, California.

"It was the maddest I've ever seen Aaron," Jason says.

Aaron tried to connect with his ungloved right fist. His wild swings proved unsuccessful.

"Yep, big brother gives little brother the left-handed glove and beats up on him a little bit," Aaron says, laughing, "which was probably deserved. It was actually a pretty good strategy by him."

Today, Jason Mansfield is the second-year head coach for a K-State volleyball program fighting to rise in the Big 12 Conference. Aaron Mansfield, who enjoyed six successful seasons as head coach at Loyola Marymount, is in his second season as the head coach at Oklahoma, which is in its first season in the SEC.

In a game bent on athleticism and deft strategy, the Mansfield brothers have their respective teams battling as the Wildcats and Sooners head toward their conference seasons.

K-State and Oklahoma will meet for the 101^st time in a 4 p.m. contest Sunday in the K-State Invitational at Morgan Family Arena on ESPNU.

It's rare to have a set of brothers serving as Division I head coaches. Perhaps even rarer to be separated by just a four-hour stretch along Interstate 35.

That's life for the Mansfields — two brothers and best friends who, much like in boxing, are looking to help their teams send opponents sprawling to the ground.

"Anytime Aaron and his family come to visit, it's special," Jason says. "This is different. Obviously, he's bringing his team to compete. But it's very special that we're both Division I head coaches in Power 4 conferences, so there's a lot to be thankful for."

Aaron and the Sooners will load up and head to Manhattan on Thursday. Aaron's wife, Lindsey, and their two sons will make the trip to the Little Apple on Friday. While Aaron will stay in the team hotel, the rest of his family will stay with Jason and Kim, and their daughter, Rylee, and son, Dylan. With Jason and Aaron's parents, David and Cindy, also residing in Manhattan, this weekend will mark a family reunion of sorts.

"My wife and kids will drive up and stay at Jason's house. The kids want to see their cousins. I'll be bopping back-and-forth between the hotel and spending some time there," Aaron says. "Our mom and dad now live in Manhattan, which has been awesome for them. They're super excited to be around their grandkids more. Our aunt and uncle will be there as well. It's stuff like that that I'm really looking forward to. It's a special opportunity to get together."

Last season, Oklahoma beat K-State 3-2 on October 19 before K-State returned the favor with a 3-0 win the next day in Norman, Oklahoma, in their last battle as Big 12 foes. K-State and Oklahoma are tied 5-5 in their last 10 matchups.

"When we first played against each other last year, those two matches, it was really awkward at times, and uncomfortable, competing against your brother for the first time," Jason says. "But we've both settled in to just trying to help our teams be the best they can be and how to beat each other."

Sports was always big in the Mansfield home: Football, basketball, boxing and track and field. David was a huge sports fan. Jason began playing volleyball when he was 14. His first coaching gig? He coached Aaron's seventh-grade volleyball team to an undefeated season. Jason got his official coaching start at Foothill Community College from 1997-99 and compiled a stellar run as a club coach with the Vision Volleyball Club from 2000-16. He then served as an assistant coach at Illinois and Stanford before a special five years at Washington, where he helped the Huskies advance to four Sweet 16s, one Elite Eight, and one Final Four.

Jason was regarded as one of the most experienced and accomplished assistant coaches in the country when he was hired by K-State in December 2022.

"He went a long time without being a head coach," Aaron says. "It was one of those things where there was never the right opportunity, and K-State just seemed like the right opportunity for him. He's been qualified to be a head coach for a long time now. Even 10 or 15 years ago he was ready to be a head coach."

Aaron was a three-time team captain and 2005 All-American libero who graduated from UCSB in 2005 as the school's all-time digs leader, and who went on to play for the USA National Team for two years. Aaron also starred on the AVP Tour and served as Club Santa Barbara Boys 18U head coach and eventually led Loyola High School to a state championship. Aaron's first big break came when he spent five seasons at UC Santa Barbara, his alma mater, on the men's volleyball staff. Then he spent five years with the women's team at Santa Clara, including the final three as associate head coach, before he earned his first job as head coach at Loyola Marymount from 2017-22.

"He's a teacher and a learner and those are two things that I aspire to be as well," Jason says. "He's amazing at teaching not just the game but life skills, and he does a really good job in constantly trying to find ways to do it better, whether it's skills, drills, team bonding, or how to connect with a player. He's a great dad and husband and brother and son. Aaron inspires me to be better at those things, too."

Interestingly, Aaron was hired by Oklahoma on December 22, 2022. Jason was hired by K-State four days later.

"Wow, that was a whirlwind," Aaron says. "I still remember where I was when I talked to Jason and told him I accepted the job at Oklahoma. Then he called me and said that he was accepting the job at K-State. You're taking two people who've grown up together around the game and who lived far away from each other and now we're 4 ½ hours away in the middle of the U.S."

And now they're preparing for another brother-versus-brother showdown.

"I don't like it for a lot of reasons," Aaron says. "First off, I want Jason's program to succeed, and I want him to succeed. Anytime they have a match I'm following along on GameTracker or getting live stats. When you become accustomed to rooting for someone or a program and then you have to play against them, there's just a big emotional component because I believe in my brother and in what he's building there. I wish it was different. We are both super competitive and we want to win. That never goes away.

"There's just a lot of love and support for one another. It's always kind of a challenging emotional dynamic."

K-State and Oklahoma have met every year since 1975. But that could change as the Sooners are now in the SEC. However, just as Jason and Aaron share a deep bond, their programs could share the same volleyball court — conference foes or not.

"Regardless if we play each other in the fall or schedule some exhibitions in the spring, these two programs are going to be connected for as long as we're here," Aaron says. "I know we both hope to be at our respective schools for a long time. Now that we're in a different conference, obviously, it's not a scheduled game every single year, but I know we're going to find ways to be able to compete against each other and also get our families together."

It's the family time that's most memorable to Jason and Aaron.

And they'll always remember the time they boxed each other using one hand.

Kansas State University Athletics

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