[5] Shaw played basketball Santa Monica College from 1969–71 (where he was All-Conference both years and 1970–71 SMC Athlete of the Year) and at Loyola Marymount at the forward position from 1971–73, and led the West Coast Athletic Conference in free throw percentage (85.3) in 1971–72.

He received a bachelor's degree in sociology with an athletic coaching minor from UC Santa Barbara in 1977.

[9] Shaw was a member of the indoor U.S. National Team in 1979 and played professionally for the San Jose Diablos in 1979 and 1980.

Shaw also played beach volleyball, notably with fellow Hall of Fame player Karch Kiraly.

He head coached both the men’s and women’s teams at Stanford for a combined 27 years starting in 1984.

[1] Shaw is regarded as one of the best NCAA volleyball coaches of all time as he shaped the Stanford women's team into a national powerhouse.

[11] Shaw served as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning United States Men's Team at the 1982 National Sports Festival as well as the assistant for the U.S. Women's Team at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba.