Hannah Givens was announced as the first Beach Volleyball Coach in Wingate history in January of 2024. The 2019 Wingate alum will be in charge of putting together Wingate's 26th intercollegiate sport, which will begin its first season of play in the spring 0f 2025.
"The addition of beach volleyball will complement our already successful women's volleyball program," Wingate University President Dr. Rhett Brown says. "It highlights our commitment to providing a well-rounded college experience through a variety of opportunities outside the classroom."
"This is a double win for us at Wingate," Director of Athletics Joe 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. She was a recipient of the prestigious AVCA 30 Under 30 Award during her time at Lynchburg, where she took over the head coaching duties of the indoor program and was at the time the youngest head coach in all of NCAA volleyball.
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.
