Nassau Community College Receives $10,000 Grant From NJCAA Foundation And First Point Volleyball Foundation

Press release from Nassau Community College:

August 2, 2021

Garden City, NY — Nassau Community College has been selected to receive a $10,000 grant from the NJCAA Foundation and the First Point Volleyball Foundation to begin offering men’s volleyball as an official sport at the College for the 2021-2022 academic year.

SUNY Nassau was one of 15 NJCAA member colleges chosen to receive $10,000 in grant funds. The grants were awarded to schools who expressed an interest in starting a collegiate varsity men’s volleyball program on campus.

“At Nassau Community College we are focused on providing our students with a high-quality education, excellent support services, and extracurricular activities that provide a solid foundation for their future successes,” said Dr. Jermaine F. Williams, President, Nassau Community College. “We thank the NJCAA and the First Point Volleyball Foundation for providing the College with the opportunity to bring this athletic offering to our students. We truly are a community at SUNY Nassau and our coaches are laser-focused on the student-athlete achieving. We look forward to cheering on the Lions Men’s Volleyball team in the 2021-2022 season.”

The College is currently in the selection process for a head men’s volleyball coach and will start recruiting students for the spring 2022 season once the coach has been selected.

Men’s volleyball will become the 24th intercollegiate athletics offering at SUNY Nassau, joining baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, Esports, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, outdoor track and field, women’s volleyball and wrestling.

"As one of 19 First Point Foundation board members, I can say we are so proud to be able to support the NJCAA and these 15 institutions starting men's volleyball," said Mick Haley, First Point Volleyball Foundation volunteer board member and AVCA Hall of Famer. A former men’s volleyball coach at Kellogg Community College (MI), Haley led the program to four NJCAA national championships, back when the sport was sponsored, before stints as head women's coach at the University of Texas, University of Southern California, and the 2000 US Women's Olympic Team in Sydney. "Two-year colleges present the most affordable opportunity for young people to play college volleyball during a time when students want to stay closer to home,” Haley continued. “Our hope at First Point is to see 35 or 40 more two-year colleges follow these 15 and sponsor men's volleyball."

"As we work to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games, all of us at USA Volleyball are excited by this awesome news of 15 newly announced men's collegiate volleyball programs at two-year colleges," stated John Speraw, First Point Volleyball Foundation Founder and volunteer Chairman and head coach of the US Men's National Team and UCLA Men's Volleyball. "I suspect it won't be long before an NJCAA athlete will play for Team USA,” Speraw added. “I want to personally thank all the donors to First Point Volleyball Foundation, past and future, for making these grants possible."

“The ability to create more opportunities for student-athletes to compete in college and take part in a growing sport is one of the ultimate wins the NJCAA Foundation can achieve,” said Brian Luckett, NJCAA Foundation Executive Director. “We are appreciative of the First Point Volleyball Foundation for making this possible and the NJCAA member colleges who have stepped up to make history by bringing back men’s volleyball to the association.”

This press release was produced by Nassau Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.