The University of Texas at Austin (UT) will field a beach volleyball team that’ll officially compete starting in 2024, per a school-issued press release.
Growing in popularity given its exposure at the Summer Olympics, the game saw its first official season played at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level during the 2011-2012 academic year, with the first national champion crowned in 2016, the release said.
UT’s announcement came just as the women’s indoor volleyball team – ranked first in the nation – began its 2022 campaign with a 3-0 mark.
“We are excited to have beach volleyball join the nation’s top athletic program and be a part of our winning Longhorn tradition,” UT President Dr. Jay Hartzell said in the release. “The combination of indoor and beach volleyball will provide greater competitive opportunities for our student-athletes, increase our ability to attract top talent and deliver even more compelling sporting events for our fans and community.”
The university said that Longhorns volleyball head coach Jerritt Elliott and his staff will oversee the new program.
The team will play a limited spring schedule next year before become fully sanctioned by 2024.
According to UT Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte, the beach volleyball team has been a long time coming.
“We’ve been discussing this for a while and are thrilled to be adding this fast-paced and exciting sport to our athletics programs,” Del Conte said in the release.
The Longhorns indoor volleyball program has three national championships and 27 all-time conference titles under its belt, UT said.
Elliott has commenced his 22nd year at the helm and is looking to beef up a résumé that includes 16 consecutive NCAA Sweet Sixteen berths, 15 NCAA Regional Finals berths, 10 Final Four appearances and five national title finalist finishes to go with the 2012 NCAA crown and 10 Big XII championships.
“This is another great opportunity to build and expand our brand of Texas volleyball,” Elliott said in the release. “Having it alongside our indoor team will be a great addition to our program in so many ways. spring competition and beach volleyball will bring added exposure, enhance recruiting, and the opportunity to bring in even more elite student-athletes in our sport.”
UT’s indoor team defeated the fourth-ranked Minnesota Gophers in four sets on Wednesday, according to a recap on the NCAA website.
The Longhorns began the year with a sweep of another ranked opponent in Ohio State.
Next for UT is a trip to the West Coast to take on No. 12 Stanford.