A native of Silver Spring, Md, Chao has been a part of George Mason volleyball since he donned the Green and Gold as a student-athlete for the program and earning his degree in psychology in 1994. He played his senior season at Mason after transferring from Pepperdine University, where he played volleyball for a year. Prior to landing the head coaching position, Chao served as assistant coach or the women's team for six seasons and the men's assistant coach for two seasons.
A 3-time EIVA Coach of the Year, Chao guided the Patriots to 15 consecutive appearances in the EIVA Championship Tournament. Mason made it to the EIVA final five times in Chao's era, losing all matches at the hands of volleyball powerhouse and National Champion Penn State. The Patriots overall record with Chao at the helm was 246-204.
Chao coached two Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year winners, Mark Jones in 2013 and Shaun Powell in 2006, who also earned DI-II First-Team All-American. Kyle Gramit, a Second-Team AVCA All-American in 2008, wrapped up his career with three consecutive First-Team EIVA All-East selection.
He also guided several players to EIVA Newcomer of the Year honors, including the past two years—Brian Negron and Radoslav Popov. Two seasons, most recently in 2013 and also in 2006, a record-setting six players took home All-EIVA postseason honors.
Mason achieved national rankings during several seasons under the leadership of Chao. In 2006, Chao led the Patriots to one of their most successful seasons ever, finishing 22-6 overall, with an 11-1 record in conference play. Mason finished the season as the No. 14 team in the nation, marking the second consecutive season the Patriots finished the season ranked among the nation's top 15. Mason was ranked in every Top-15 Poll during the 2008 season, reaching a high of No. 11, and finishing the season as the only team to defeat eventual national champion Penn State, downing the Nittany Lions in four games on March 7 at the Mason Field House.Â
The 2009 season saw the Patriots' defensive unit blossom into one of the best in the nation. Mason led the nation in blocks per set with an average of 3.49 as a team. Senior Brandon McLaughlin led the way with an average of 1.48 blocks per set, which ranked second in the nation.
Chao devoted his coaching efforts to youth teams and camps at the local, national and international levels. In 2002, he coached some of the top boys' players in the nation at the USA Volleyball Development Camp. In 2005, he served as an assistant coach on the USA Junior National Team that traveled to India for the World Championships. He was also the camp director of the USA Boys Development Camp and in the summer of 2006 was the head coach of the USA Boys Youth A2 Program.
