ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T will be adding men's volleyball among its NCAA championship sports, as the new program will officially begin in the fall of 2022 with current women's head coach Andy Halaz serving as the head coach for the men's team as well.

The addition of men's volleyball – which is already sponsored at five institutions in the Great Lakes Valley Conference – will give S&T its 16^th NCAA championship sport.  It will be the first sport added at Missouri S&T since golf started in 2017.

The program will start at the varsity level starting next fall, with the first season of competition beginning in January 2023. 

"We are excited to add men's volleyball as our newest sport at S&T," said Missouri S&T director of athletics Melissa Ringhausen. "Men's volleyball has grown in popularity at the high school and collegiate levels and the potential is there for our institution to capitalize on this opportunity. 

"Coach Halaz has done a fantastic job with our women's volleyball program and I am confident he will provide outstanding leadership and guidance as we begin to build our men's volleyball program," Ringhausen said.  "He is well-connected in the volleyball community and has a solid record of recruiting high-achieving student-athletes to the university."

Halaz, who will begin his fourth season as the head coach of the S&T's women's volleyball program this fall, has a record of 50-32 over his first three seasons at the helm and led the Miners to the GLVC West Division title and championship game of the GLVC Tournament in the spring of 2021.  The Miners also achieved the program's first-ever national ranking during that campaign at No. 25; S&T also received votes in several other polls during a season in which it finished with a record of 14-7.

"Men's volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and I'm thrilled to be able to help grow the game at the collegiate level and expand Division I men's volleyball geographically," Halaz said.  "These young men will have the opportunity to start a program from scratch and leave a legacy in our program, the university and men's college volleyball as a whole."
 
The other GLVC schools that currently sponsor a men's volleyball program are Lewis, McKendree, Quincy, Lindenwood and Maryville, which is beginning play in the 2021-22 academic year.  Lewis was ranked fourth nationally at the end of the 2021 season and played in the NCAA national semifinals, while McKendree was ranked 13^th in the final rankings.  Those two, along with Lindenwood and Quincy, are currently part of the powerful Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.

"Our men's club team has a great history and has been attracting top players due to our academic prowess. I'm thrilled to offer it as a varsity program that competes at the Division I level to showcase our university to even more people," Halaz said. "We've had some good success with our women's program and when people see the speed and physicality of the men's game, it'll create a positive buzz around Missouri S&T's athletic department and the university."