Alan Knipe Named Big West Coach Of The Year

4/23/2024 11:31:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

Knipe earns the honors after leading Long Beach State to its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West announced its individual award winners on Tuesday morning and Long Beach State's Alan Knipe was named Big West Coach of the Year for the third time in his career after having taken home the award in 2018 and 2019.

Knipe, who is in his 21st year at the helm of the Beach, has led Long Beach State to a 25-2 overall record as the team heads into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed. In Big West action, Knipe's squad went 9-1 and won the regular season title for the third-straight year.

Long Beach State is making its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Under Knipe's guidance, the Beach will be in the postseason for the ninth time, and for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.

This season, Knipe mentored six Big West All-Conference selections. Mason Briggs, Aidan Knipe, Sotiris Siapanis, and Simon Torwie were all named to the First Team, while Skyler Varga earned Honorable Mention status, and Lazar Bouchkov was named to the All-Freshman Team. Throughout his career, Knipe has coached 96 All-Conference selections and 70 All-Americans.

The all-time winningest coach in Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program history, Knipe earned his 400th career victory earlier this season with a 3-0 sweep of King University on February 2. He owns a 417-167 overall record for a .714 winning percentage. During his career, Knipe has led the Beach to two NCAA National Championships (2018 and 2019), coached half a dozen National Players of the Year, and has been named Conference Coach of the Year five times, and National Coach of the Year three times.

In addition to having coached the Beach for more than two decades, Knipe also spent some time at the helm of the U.S. Men's National Team from 2009-12. During that time, he led the team to the 2012 Olympic Games where they won Pool B, after having won the Silver Medal at the 2012 FIVB World League, and the Gold Medal at the 2012 NORCECA Olympic Qualifier.

Earlier this season, USA Volleyball announced that Knipe would be recognized as an All-Time Great Coach at the 2024 Hall of Fame annual banquet and ceremony. Knipe will receive the Donald S. Shondell All-Time Great Coach Award on May 22 at the Hilton Polaris in Columbus, Ohio.

Knipe's Long Beach State squad will face No. 7 Belmont Abbey on Tuesday, April 30 at 5 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.