Scott Swanson, 28, was named the fifth head coach of the UTEP volleyball program Thursday afternoon, announced
Bob Stull, UTEP Director of Athletics.
Swanson, who was the associate head coach at Arizona State University this past season, comes to UTEP after a six-year stint with the Sun Devils.
"We are pleased to have a coach with the experience and knowledge from the Pac-10," said Stull. "After serving as associate head coach, he brings quality experience in both coaching and recruiting. He has both the knowledge and contacts of the West Coast and Southwest recruiting areas, which is an added plus."
Swanson replaces Revis Ward-Daggett, who resigned earlier this month.
At Arizona State, Swanson served as an assistant coach on Patti Snyder-Park's staff for five years, before being promoted to associate head coach. He was primarily responsible for teaching the technical aspects of the game, as well as coordinating all of the recruiting aspects for Sun Devil volleyball.
"I think it is going to be an amazing opportunity for me," said Swanson "I am very excited and thankful for opportunity to work at UTEP. I feel like things are in place to have some immediate success.
"I think that my experience in the Pac-10 will help establish this program as a contender. It is going to take a lot of hard work and patience, but I am excited about the opportunity. I am going to focus on the team to where we get to the point that we are competing with the San Jose States and Fresno States for a spot in the (NCAA) tournament."
During his tenure at Arizona State, Swanson saw the Sun Devils produce two NCAA tournament teams (1999, 2000), one All-American and two Academic All-Americans.
Swanson was the head coach of Arizona East Valley Juniors Volleyball Club. His 16-1's played for a National Championship and took second among the top 32 in the nation, which is the best finish by an Arizona club team ever. He coached 18-1's for the East Valley Juniors. He was named 1995 Cactus Region Male Coach of the Year.
As a club coach, Swanson coached ASU standouts Cheryl Anglin, Courtney Blocher, Kim Mehlhorn and Natalie Harris when they were juniors at the club level.
Currently, Swanson is coaching a USA Volleyball High Performance Team, Arizona High Performance. The team will compete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 25-29, 2002.
He played for and captained the Arizona State men's volleyball team for four years. Swanson coached the ASU men's volleyball team in 1995 and assisted with the team in 1996.
A graduate of Mesa (Ariz.) Mountain View High School in 1991, Swanson has also had coaching stints at Mountain View and Camelback High Schools.
Swanson, a native of Mesa, Ariz., is a 1997 graduate from Arizona State with a degree in Family Studies. He was born March 11, 1973.
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