Athletic Director Warde Manuel went on an extensive search for a new volleyball coach after declining to renew the contract of Jim Lodes in December. After two months, the search officially ended on Tuesday.
Todd Kress has been tapped as Buffalo's new volleyball head coach. Kress brings more than 250 wins and three NCAA tournament appearances to a team that won just six matches last season.
"Being away from coaching this past year was very difficult, but I am looking forward to the opportunity that there is for me at Buffalo," Kress said in a press release.
Buffalo will be the fourth Division I coaching job for Kress. He has accumulated a career record of 255-156 in 14 years as a head coach. Kress became the second youngest coach in NCAA volleyball history to win 200 matches in October 2004.
He began his head coaching career at Fairfield, where he led the team to back-to-back Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships and NCAA tournament appearances in 1997 and 1998. He coached the conference player of the year and rookie of the year during his time coaching the Stags.
Following his success at Fairfield, Northern Illinois hired him as their head coach. He coached the Huskies from 1999-2002. During that time, Kress won a MAC Championship in 2001 and coached Jenny Bowman, both the MAC Player of the Year and MAC Freshman of the Year of that season.
Kress's success with the Huskies proved him worthy of a better job. Florida State hired him for the 2002 season, where he coached the Seminoles until 2007.
Kress immediately proved his worth at Florida State, bringing the Seminoles to the NCAA tournament his first season there. Kress coached NCAA All-Americans in three seasons and first-team All-ACC players in five straight years.
His players also performed well in the classroom. Kress had seven players named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. In addition, he coached Sarah Griffin, Florida State's first player to be named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team since 1993.
Manuel believes Kress will provide the volleyball team with an immediate lift.
"We are delighted to welcome Todd to the Buffalo athletics family," Manuel said in a press release. "His success at three different programs speaks to his coaching and recruiting ability, and we feel he has the experience to make Buffalo the fourth program he takes to the NCAA tournament. Todd has a great passion for volleyball, possesses a great understanding of the game and brings out the best in his players."
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
