Nicholls State has announced Jay Van Vark as the 10th head coach for the Colonels following the dismissal of Tommy Harold after 5 seasons at the helm of the program.
“Coach Van Vark’s resume speaks for itself and it became obvious through the interview process and when we had him on campus that he was the right person at the right time for our volleyball program,” said Athletics Director Matt Roan.
Van Vark is no stranger to the Division I coaching level, having 4 assistant coaching positions under his belt coming into Nicholls State. His Division I stops has included time which Grand Canyon University, Ohio State University, San Diego State University and UC-Santa Barbara. In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Van Vark has experience with USA Volleyball.
With the Buckeyes, Van Vark helped Ohio State to an unexpected Sweet 16 run when the program was ranked 80th in the preseason and mirrored that success after his time with SDSU when the Aztecs when undefeated at home and won their first-ever Mountain West Championship.
Van Vark went to Iowa State University, playing semi-pro indoor with ACCO Sportswear for two seasons while in college. Additionally, he played three seasons with East Beach as an AAA-rated beach and grass player. Van Vark has also taken part in 5 USVBA Open National Championships.
In the late 80s, Van Vark began as a college referee and was the youngest ref in the Big 8 (now Big 12).
Following college, Van Vark moved to San Diego where he was the head coach of the boys’ and girls’ volleyball programs at Rancho Bernardo High School for 10 seasons. There he helped the girls to their only CIF volleyball title in 1994.
In addition to his coaching talents, Van Vark co-founded a software firm called Envision Sports Inc., a statistical and technology enhancement high-tech firm focusing on volleyball. He is also the author of a volleyball statistics package – iVolleyStats.
USA Volleyball Experience
Head Team Coach, USA Collegiate National Team, 2013 Dallas, 2014 Minneapolis, 2015 New Orleans, 2017 Minneapolis
2013-18, Tech Coordinator, Women’s National Team Tryout
2017 Junior National Team Coach, World Championships – Seventh-place finish
Van Vark will have a tough test ahead of him for the 2018 season with the Colonels, as the team went just 4-25 in the 2017 season and winning just 2 Southland Conference matches.
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