The search for MSU’s next volleyball coach could be nearing an end.
“Hopefully we are toward the final stages of the search,” said Ann Carr, MSU senior associate athletic director and senior woman administrator.
While Carr said the position has not been offered yet, she is optimistic that an official announcement could be made by the end of this week.
Carr, who heads the search along with first-year athletic director Greg Byrne, said the two were performing a truly nationwide search to find the best candidate for MSU.
That candidate will bring a lot of energy to the program. He or she will also have a proven record and be well-respected within the volleyball community.
Carr and Byrne attended the annual convention of the American Volleyball Coaches’ Convention in Omaha, Neb., interviewing some candidates and surveying well-respected coaches about potential candidates.
Carr said candidates have also been interviewed in Starkville.
The position became available unexpectedly when former coach Tina Seals made a decision to resign for personal reasons.
Carr said the decision came as quite a surprise, as Seals had already completed her annual evaluation.
One of the reasons Seals cited for her resignation was to spend more time with her family, including her daughter who is slated to graduate from Starkville High School in May. Another reason was simply fatigue.
“I’ve put my heart and soul into coaching for 17 years,” Seals said. “The last two seasons have been really hard, and I feel like I’ve been worked to death.”
In each of the past two seasons, the MSU program has lost an assistant mid-season, multiplying the work load placed on the head coach. In 2007, Chris Cothran left mid-year and Lindsay Shondell left in the middle of the 2008 season.
To make matters worse Don Perkins, the lone assistant coach remaining became ill late in the 2008 season, magnifying the work load placed on Seals even further.
In five years at MSU, Seals compiled a 64-83 record. The 2008 squad had a disappointing 6-25 record, including 1-19 in the SEC.
“I’ve given everything I could to this program,” Seals said. “It’s more than a coaching job, it’s my alma mater.”
Seals said she had confidence that the administration will hire the best possible candidate to take the program to the next level.