The kid from New York, who stumbled upon volleyball while in college, whose eventual college coaching career took him to Penn and then for the past 33 years to the University of North Carolina, retired Monday.
Joe Sagula, 67, talked to us about the decision, how much things have changed for college coaches, how he got into volleyball and the path he took, and much more in this interview from his office in Chapel Hill.
A list of the NCAA Division I coaches who have been in their respective current jobs the longest follows the video. Can you guess who has been coaching the longest (hint: they’ve been in their jobs for 39 years):
LONGEST-TENURED DIVISION I COACHES
39 years through 2022
Carolyn Condit, Miami, Ohio
Brenda Gray, Sam Houston
35
Debbie Humphries, Stephen F. Austin
Van Compton, Little Rock.
34
Barry Goldberg, American
33
Joe Sagula, North Carolina
Beth Launiere, Utah
32
Mary Wise, Florida
31
Dave Rubio, Arizona
29
Joanne Persico, St. John’s
Jennifer Weiss, Harvard
28
Travis Hudson, Western Kentucky
