Conference Lone Star Head coach Craig Case (6th year) Date founded 1978 | Location Commerce, TX Nickname Lions | |
University Texas A&M University–Commerce Home arena Texas A&M–Commerce Field House (Capacity: 5,000) | ||
The Texas A&M–Commerce Lions women's volleyball team (formerly the East Texas State Lions) is the women's intercollegiate volleyball program representing Texas A&M University–Commerce. The school competes in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The A&M–Commerce women's volleyball team plays its home games at the University Field House on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. The Lions have won two conference regular-season titles, an LSC tournament championship, and have appeared in the NCAA tournament on three occasions, all during the tenure of head coach Kathy Goodlett (1983–89). The team is currently coached by Craig Case.
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History
Women's volleyball has been a varsity sport at A&M–Commerce (then East Texas State) since 1978, and the team has played in the LSC since it began sponsoring the sport in 1983. In 1980, the Lions finished the season as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national runners-up. From its inception until 1982, the program competed in the NAIA under head coach Donna Tavener; that year, it began competing at the NCAA Division II level.
The Lions were one of the strongest teams in the LSC during the 1980s, never finishing below fourth place in the conference under the guidance of head coach Kathy Goodlett between 1983 and 1989, and winning the conference regular-season title in 1986 and 1987 as well as the LSC tournament in 1986. The team also reached the NCAA Division II tournament quarterfinals in 1987, and advanced to the second round of the national tournament in the two subsequent seasons, 1987 and 1988.
Since the end of Goodlett's coaching tenure in 1989, the A&M–Commerce women's volleyball program has failed to win a regular-season conference championship, an LSC tournament title, or qualify for the NCAA tournament. During this span, the Lions have been coached by Terri Johnson (1990–95), Larry Blackwell (1996–2002), Gwen Weatherford (2003–07), Mark Pryor (2008–09), and Craig Case (2010–present).
All-time record
Year-by-year results through the end of the 2015 season
Arena
The Lions women's volleyball program has played at the University Field House since the inception of the program in 1978, although the arena itself was built in 1950 and dedicated in January 1951 as the home of the school's men's basketball program. The Field House has a capacity of 5,000 for both volleyball and basketball contests. The building as a whole measures a total of 69,000 square feet (6,400 m2), enabling it to host the offices of numerous A&M–Commerce sports (including cross country, track and field, soccer, and softball in addition to basketball and volleyball) and university departments (the Athletic Department, Athletic Training, Health and Human Performance, and the James Thrower Academic Center). The arena has also been the host to numerous athletic camps and concerts.
Designed by George Dahl, the Field House was intended to resemble an airplane hangar, with an arched roof topping out at 58 feet (18 m) that is supported by steel beams. In 1949, school president James Gee announced plans for the building's construction along with Memorial Stadium at a combined cost of $325,000. Since its opening in 1951, the Field House has been renovated on numerous occasions: in 1969 (adding classrooms, offices, and dressing rooms), 1991 (replacing bleachers, hardwood playing surface, the HVAC system, and scoreboards), and 2014 (again replacing the playing surface).