Wingate, N.C.----President Dr. Rhett Brown and Director of Athletics Joe Reich have announced the addition of beach volleyball as the 26th intercollegiate sport at Wingate University. Wingate University alum Hannah Givens '19 will be the program's first head coach. The inaugural Wingate women's beach volleyball season will begin in the spring of 2025.

The University has added four intercollegiate programs over the past four years. Women's triathlon began in 2021, field hockey started in 2022, and acrobatics and tumbling was announced in 2022 and will begin in February 2024.

"The addition of beach volleyball will complement our already successful women's volleyball program," Brown says. "It highlights our commitment to providing a well-rounded college experience through a variety of opportunities outside the classroom."

Beach volleyball is a growing collegiate sport, offered by over 170 colleges across NCAA Division I, II and III as well as the NAIA and the California Community College Athletic Association. There are 67 Division I beach teams, 20 Division II programs and nine Division III teams. The NAIA, CCCAA and NJCAA combine for another 86 teams. Wingate gives the state of North Carolina eight beach volleyball programs, which is the fifth-most of any state, trailing only California, Florida, Texas and Arizona.

Wingate now gives the South Atlantic Conference four schools with beach volleyball, joining Carson-Newman, Catawba and Tusculum. In addition, Conference Carolinas schools Erskine and Emmanuel also have beach volleyball programs. 

"This is a double win for us at Wingate," Reich says. "First, to start beach volleyball and add that great sport to our deep athletic department. Then, to have Hannah Givens return to coach beach is truly special." 

Givens played collegiate volleyball at Wingate, under AVCA Hall of Fame head coach Shelton Collier. Givens was an All-SAC and All-Region outside hitter for the Bulldogs in 2018, helping to lead the Bulldogs to a pair of SAC titles and an NCAA Southeast Region championship.

"I am beyond excited to be coming back to Wingate and continuing to help grow the sport of beach volleyball," Givens says. "This elite athletic department and university are going to be among the best places to grow an emerging sport, and Wingate will be a top-notch institution for future beach volleyball athletes. I am so thankful and honored to be back!"

Givens joins the Bulldogs after serving as the director of volleyball at the University of Lynchburg since March of 2020. There, she oversaw the school's indoor and beach volleyball programs. Givens created the inaugural Lynchburg beach volleyball team, which was the first NCAA beach volleyball team in the state of Virginia.

Givens will begin her duties as the head beach volleyball coach on Feb. 1. To keep up with the progress of the Wingate beach volleyball program, follow the Bulldogs on Instagram and Twitter.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 25 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 15 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.