Truett McConnell University announces the addition of Women’s Beach Volleyball as TMU Athletics’ 20th sport beginning Fall of 2021. The team will be led by our Head Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Coach, Mark Corbin, as he will transition to the Director of Volleyball.

Beach Volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in the country as it has benefited from the support of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) that helped bring the sport to prominence within the collegiate ranks. This is evident as the NCAA is in year four of championship status of the sport. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced Women’s Beach Volleyball as an emerging sport beginning in 2019-20.

The team will consist of 12 student-athletes, as this sport features five 2vs2 matchups during each contest, and TMU plans to participate in a total of 10-16 contests during the inaugural season. Beach Volleyball is a spring sport at the collegiate level with contests beginning at the end of February and continuing through the end of April.

Truett McConnell University will participate in Women’s Beach Volleyball beginning as an NAIA independent institution to allow for more flexibility with scheduling during the first year or two of sponsorship and will then look to transition as an affiliate member of a NAIA conference that is close in proximity. The team will participate in both the NAIA Invitational and the Small College Beach Volleyball Tournament until such time that TMU is a member of a NAIA conference.

Members of the TMU Administration have already determined the perfect site for TMU’s two new beach courts, which will be built to collegiate standards on our beautiful campus. With over six institutions sponsoring women’s beach volleyball within a 4-hour radius of TMU, we will be able to schedule many competitions within close proximity to our Cleveland campus. TMU will also host these opponents at TMU’s new beach facility.

“In determining which sport we would sponsor next at Truett McConnell we looked at many factors including; the ability to recruit students, the initial facility and equipment investment costs, locations of opponents and travel and transportation costs, available coaches, return on investment, among others,” Athletic Director Jenni Shepard said. “After concluding this research, it was determined that women’s beach volleyball was a perfect fit for TMU Athletics.

In a time that sees that many institutions are cutting programs, Truett McConnell continues to add programs. I believe this is because TMU offers something distinctively different with our Christian Worldview Education, which equips our students for a life after graduation that prepares them to share and defend the gospel within their discipline. I can’t wait to welcome these new student-athletes to campus and host our first event at our new facility!”

Additional NAIA opponents are prevalent throughout the state of Florida and we plan to schedule with some of these institutions during our Spring Break weeks. Many beach volleyball contests are held on Fridays and Saturdays with multiple teams meeting at one facility to play against one another.

“I am very excited that we get to announce the addition of another volleyball team to our sports program,” Corbin said. “Beach volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in college and we are happy to be part of helping the sport excel to the next level. We will immediately begin recruiting for this team and look forward to the players we will add to the TMU family.

I want to thank Dr. Caner and Coach Shepard for the opportunity to start our second new volleyball program in less than two years. Players will have the opportunity to play other colleges throughout the southeast and continue playing the sport that they love at the collegiate level. I look forward to what God has in store for our volleyball program and athletic department in the years to come.”

Prospective athletes interested in joining the women’s beach volleyball program should email mcorbin@truett.edu or complete the TMU recruitment from found here.

Return to News Archive