March 28, 2024

CSN to add volleyball program to join SWAC

This archived article was written by: Jordan Mellen

The College of Southern Nevada announced on Oct. 22 they will be adding a collegiate volleyball team to their athletic program. Coyote volleyball begins its first season, this upcoming 2015-2016 school year. Adding volleyball to their athletic program now makes a total three-varsity sports participating at the NJCAA Division 1 level in the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) for CSN.
CSN adding volleyball to their athletic program is credited to the school’s new Athletic Director Dexter Irvin. He says that his goal is to add as many sports to the school’s athletic program as he can. He is confident of his ability to do so because of his experience. Before CSN, he spent more than a decade at Dixie State College, and helped them make the transition from a junior college to a four-year, Division 2 school. Before making this transition to a four-year school, Dixie played in the SWAC so Irvin is already familiar with SWAC schools and officials. He believes that it will help him in the process of adding more sporting programs to CSN as the athletic director.
The addition of volleyball at CSN not only benefits the SWAC as it grows and increases level of competition, it also allows more spots for women athletes to compete at the collegiate level. More importantly, it opens up scholarship opportunities for women athletes to pursue a college education.
The addition of volleyball at CSN brings the Utah State University Eastern Lady Eagle volleyball team another competitor in its conference. This increases the competition of SWAC volleyball by forcing one more team to beat out for a playoff position. “We are not worried due to our confidence in our skills and results of our current season,” Masi Steel, a member of Eastern’s volleyball team, said.