Tyler Schnaible has spent much of his career journey on the move. Now a new volleyball assistant coach at Utah State, Schnaible has lived in New York, Georgia, Michigan, Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida and Utah, with a stop in Canada along the way — each place adding another layer to who he is becoming.
Through his involvement in NCAA leadership development — first as a student, then as a facilitator — he has absorbed guidance and shared wisdom with the next generation of leaders.
Schnaible participated in the Student-Athlete Leadership Forum as a student. As a graduate of the NCAA's Effective Facilitation Workshop, Schnaible facilitated the Student-Athlete Leadership Forum twice and the Emerging Leaders Seminar. He will also facilitate the Career in Sports Forum later this year.
These have been full-circle moments for Schnaible, who played as a middle and right-side hitter at Russell Sage College and Adrian. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education from Russell Sage in 2020 and earned a master's in organizational leadership from Nichols.
"The Student-Athlete Leadership Forum was one of the greatest experiences of my life," Schnaible said. "I left that event saying, I'm going to do whatever it takes to one day facilitate. And it's really cool to go full circle and have the opportunity to facilitate different leadership forums. To be able to give back to the events that meant so much to me is such a special feeling."
As a sophomore, Schnaible arrived at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum as a participant and left with a new sense of possibility. It was the first time he'd really been pushed to self-reflect and "peel back layers" beyond his identity as an athlete. The curriculum and facilitators challenged him in ways he hadn't experienced in high school or early college.
Years later, he's living out that promise on the other side of the room. Schnaible now delivers the same programming that once changed his trajectory. He learned "the science of the language you use, how you guide conversation." Every time he walks into a session, he's proud of knowing he's helping others find their voice and vulnerability.
Those moments planted a seed: There was a bigger world in college athletics, one centered on developing people, not just performance. It has also informed his coaching style.
"Our job as coaches, and really anyone in college athletics, is to help transform student-athletes," Schnaible said. "They're in such a transformative period of their lives. If you carry a torch and light other torches, your light doesn't go out. It spreads."
That idea has become his personal mantra: love and light.
For Schnaible, love represents compassion and empathy. Light is the energy he brings into every room, fueled by a passion for growth and learning. The lessons from NCAA leadership development have become the foundation of his approach. People first, vulnerability as strength, and leadership as something you pass on, not something you keep.
He also understands the power of reflection, especially as student-athletes navigate life beyond the game.
"I've encouraged a lot of my friends and a lot of my peers to apply for leadership development," Schnaible said. "You'll learn so much about yourself and just about the industry in general. I am forever grateful for NCAA leadership development and all the folks there who make the magic happen. I know every time I've been a part of Student-Athlete Leadership Forum, both as a participant and as a facilitator, it's waterworks on the last day."
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Rob Knox is an award-winning professional and a member of the Lincoln (Pennsylvania) Athletics Hall of Fame. He is a graduate of the Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute and Effective Facilitation Workshop. In addition to having work published in SLAM magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post and Diverse Issues In Higher Education, Knox enjoyed a distinguished career as an athletics communicator for Lincoln, Kutztown, Coppin State, Towson and UNC Greensboro. He also worked at ESPN and for the Delaware County Daily Times. Recently, Knox was honored by College Sports Communicators with the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award and the NCAA with its Champion of Diversity and Inclusion award. Named an HBCU Legend by si.com, Knox is a Lincoln graduate and a past president of the College Sports Communicators, formerly CoSIDA.
