A college boyfriend or girlfriend can be a serious companion for college students. It is common for people to marry their college sweethearts.
Or, in the case of Brian and Jenny Hazelwood, a college romance between athletes can turn into a  husband-wife coaching tandem.
Brian played football for Mississippi State from 1995 to 1998. He was a two-time All Southeastern Conference placekicker for the Dogs. Beginning in ’96, Jenny played volleyball for State. A four-year starting setter, Hazelwood holds the MSU record for assists with 5,505.
The romance began in the fall of 1997 when the Hazelwoods first met at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes gathering. They started dating soon after and were married following Brian’s graduation while Jenny still had one year left at State.
After graduating from MSU, Jenny’s coaching career began at Mississippi College before she and her husband moved to Shreveport, La., where she took over as the head coach of Centenary College. During this time, Brian was pursuing a career in the NFL, but after five years of combines and tryouts, he decided to play arena football. Fittingly, there was an arena team in Shreveport, so he played there and worked while Jenny coached.
In 2009, the Hazelwoods found themselves back in Starkville when Jenny took the position as State’s head volleyball coach while Brian ran his own heating and air conditioning company. She quickly grew the program in her first two seasons at the helm, and this past season witnessed success with a little change: the addition of her husband to the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant.
Although football and volleyball are on opposite ends of the sports spectrum, transforming Brian into a volleyball coach was not as hard as it may have been for most people. Brian said he would watch film with Jenny every night anyway, so being on the bench allowed him to be more involved than just sitting in the stands.
“I started out with volleyball 12 years ago and didn’t know anything,” Brian said. “I’m from Mississippi, so all I knew was you hit it three times before it went over, and you can’t hit the net — that’s about what I knew to an extent. But over time you pick up on all the little things.”
From Jenny’s perspective, the important aspect was winning. She felt as if her team was in position to win those big, close matches and just needed a little extra to put them over the top.
Jenny said several teams have volunteer assistants, so the addition of Brian would be beneficial for her team.
“Brian and I would always talk volleyball anyways, so, if there was anyone who could step right in and know every little thing that we do and why we do it and know our players, it was Brian,” Hazelwood said. “He and I think a lot alike because we talk so much about volleyball, so in matches he thinks a lot of the same things I do in certain situations, which has been really helpful.”
Brian’s impact was evident throughout the season and specifically in a match at Alabama. During a timeout, Brian gave advice to senior outside hitter Caitlin Rance at a crucial point in the game. Rance went out and did exactly as he said, resulting in a point for the Dogs and ultimately a 3-0 victory.
For the Hazelwoods, coaching together did not distract them from their main goal of winning by any means. They even benefitted from the experience by getting to spend more time together, especially on road trips when things slowed down a bit.
However, Jenny did admit she may snap at her husband a little more quickly than her other assistants or get onto him for yelling at the refs, but only because he is very laid back and can handle it. She said she knew Brian would support her no matter what.
“When you’re out there coaching, every thought is how do we win this game and the flow of the match,” Jenny said. “When we’re on the bench, all four coaches are doing everything we can to help the team win, and then, when we walk off the court, nothing is different from how it’s always been for us.”
Although she has had some people inquire about the volunteer assistant position, Jenny plans to keep Brian on staff as long as he continues to do his job well. She said he has now proven he can help the team win and has enjoyed his presence on the court.
“When I am really excited or happy, we share in it even more because we’re both a part of every aspect of it,” Hazelwood said. “When I am upset or frustrated, he can understand it from going through it on the sidelines, so I do feel like we are a lot closer because of that.”