UMR tabs Jason Holt to head volleyball program
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| Jason Holt |
In his professional career, Jason Holt has assisted one collegiate volleyball program to a huge turnaround and another to its first post-season appearances. Now, he will get the opportunity to put his own stamp on a program right from the beginning.
Holt has been selected to head up the University of Missouri-Rolla's volleyball program, which will begin play in the fall of 2007. The Great Lakes Valley Conference mandated that UMR add the sport of women's volleyball to its varsity athletics program by that time. Holt will begin his duties in July and will spend much of the upcoming year on the recruiting trail putting together the Lady Miner volleyball squad that will take the floor 14 months from now.
"Because we are starting from scratch, this is going to allow us to build something that will be unique to UMR," Holt said. "Volleyball is a sport that we feel can get a lot of community support right away and allow us a chance to have success."
Holt has spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of North Dakota, where he helped lead the Sioux to their first two appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. He served as the interim head coach on two separate occasions. During the last three years, the Sioux had an overall record of 65-59 with national tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003. Prior to his stint at UND, Holt spent two seasons assisting the program at Fort Hays State University and helped lead the team to a 16 1/2-game improvement in his second season.