MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Troy, NY - The Sage College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the hiring of Andy Smith as the Head Coach of their new Men's Volleyball program. Smith, a native of Scotia, NY, will lead Sage’s new program with competition in the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA), with future competition against Skyline Conference rivals as well as regional powers from Vassar, Stevens Tech, Springfield and New Paltz.

As part of their athletics expansion, Sage will compete in six men’s varsity sports over the next three years, beginning with Tennis and Golf in 2008-09, followed by Basketball and Volleyball in 2009-10. With Smith’s hiring, the Gators have a full staff in place to lead them through the 2009-10 seasons. Previous hires include last week’s appointment of Brian Barnes, a native of Troy and former player at UAlbany, to coach the Men’s Basketball team. Fellow Troy native Andrea Hanley took over the reigns of the women’s club lacrosse program last year and will lead them into varsity play in the spring of 2009.

Cedric Gaddis, Sage’s women’s tennis coach, will assume duties as Sage’s Men’s tennis head coach in Fall ‘09. Gaddis also coaches the Adirondack Men’s Open Empire State Games team. Rounding out the newest members of the coaching staff is Luke Scala, Head Coach of the Men’s Golf team. Scala is well-known in the area as a PGA Golf Professional and currently serves as the pro at Van Schaick Island Country Club in Cohoes.

With the addition of Men’s Volleyball at Sage, the Gators will become the only Division III Men’s Volleyball program in the Capital region and Smith hopes to tap into a wealth of local talent to begin the building process. "The capital district is rich with talented boys volleyball players…I am excited for the opportunity to showcase these players close to home in the Sage program,” said Smith.

Smith completed his BS in Physical Education at SUNY Cortland in 2006. He served as the Graduate Assistant coach for their highly successful Red Dragon Women’s Volleyball program since 2005 and been head coach of the McGraw High School Girls’ Varsity team since 2006. He is slated to complete his MS in Teaching (Health Ed) in December, 2008. As a student-athlete, Smith played on the Cortland Men’s Volleyball Club team that won NYS Championships in 2007 & 2008 and were national qualifiers in 2005, ’07, and ’08.

“Andy is a great example of a terrific young coach that will help Sage improve and expand our Athletics program,” said Sage’s Athletic Director Dani Drews. “He learned the ropes as a player and coach in one of the top programs in the Northeast and we are confident that he will be able to translate that experience into building a strong, men’s volleyball program at Sage.”

Smith will officially begin at Sage on August 1st. For more information on Sage Athletics, visit their website at www.sagegators.com.