Story Links FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University’s Matt Botsford has announced he is stepping down as head volleyball coach of the Eagles to take the same job with UCF. “We are grateful to Matt for his service to FGCU and we are proud of his many accomplishments,” said FGCU director of athletics […]
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University’s Matt Botsford has announced he is stepping down as head volleyball coach of the Eagles to take the same job with UCF.
“We are grateful to Matt for his service to FGCU and we are proud of his many accomplishments,” said FGCU director of athletics Colin Hargis. “His values, passion and energy have positively impacted everyone at FGCU and the Southwest Florida community. We wish him and his family the best as he takes the next steps in his career.”
During his 11 years at FGCU, Botsford built the volleyball program into the dominant force in the Atlantic Sun Conference. FGCU became the first ASUN program since 1997 to win four-straight conference tournaments when it won the 2024 championship on its home floor. The Eagles would win five tournament championships under Botsford in addition to four regular season championships and two division championships.
FGCU’s student-athletes also raked in accolades on and off the court. The Eagles had four American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Honorable Mention recognitions, with Shelby Kent earning the most recent award in 2024. Kent also became the eighth ASUN Player of the Year to play under Botsford. FGCU also had six ASUN Freshmen of the Year, five ASUN Tournament MVP’s, three ASUN Setters of the Year and two ASUN Defensive Players of the Year. Twice, FGCU claimed the ASUN Student-Athlete of the Year Award for volleyball.
Botsford departs FGCU with the ninth-best winning percentage among active coaches in D-I volleyball with a mark of .771. Only twice in 11 seasons did Botsford’s teams not win at least 20 matches, with one of those campaigns coming in Spring 2021 when FGCU went 14-3 and won the ASUN South Division.
A national search will begin immediately to find the next head coach for the FGCU volleyball program
