PROVO, Utah — BYU director of athletics Brian Santiago officially introduced Rob Neilson as the seventh head coach in BYU women’s volleyball program history on Thursday morning.
BYU director of athletics Brian Santiago’s opening statement
“On behalf of BYU Athletics, this is an exciting day for the future of BYU women’s volleyball, and it’s my privilege to introduce to you Rob Neilson as our new head women’s volleyball coach. We were just talking a minute ago about the fact that he’s home. He talked about being at the basketball game last night, and said, ‘man, it’s amazing how many people that I know’. And I said, ‘because you’re home, this is you, this is your place. Your blood, sweat and tears are right here on this floor, and you helped us hang one of those banners up there as a national champion.’ We’re super grateful to welcome you back to BYU, Rob, especially with Sarah, your sweet wife, and your children. You’re part of our family and our BYU family, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
“We’re also super excited for you to lead these incredible young women that are over here on the side. These are some of the most remarkable student athletes anywhere in the country, and we’re super grateful that the program is in such a strong position as we segue into the future of BYU women’s volleyball. We’re grateful to have your parents here. Thank you, it’s a pleasure to have you be here, and you’re part of our family as well.”
“I just want you to turn around for a second, Rob. You’re going to see it in just a second. You’ve got coaches and support staff across this way that are super excited to welcome you into the family. The future of BYU volleyball is strong. We have a top-15 program. In a lot of situations when there’s transition, you’re building and you’ve got to start from scratch, but we’re super fortunate that our volleyball program is in such a strong position, and we’re super grateful for the leadership that the volleyball program has had in the last 10 years, the fact that we have such a strong program that’s nationally relevant as we continue to chase greatness and do it the BYU way. We’re grateful that we get to do it from a position of strength, and it starts every day with these incredible young women. So on behalf of all of us at BYU, let’s welcome our new head women’s volleyball coach, Rob Nielsen.”
BYU women’s volleyball head coach Rob Neilson’s opening statement
“It is good to be home. It is the honor of a lifetime to get to coach at this university that I love so much, on this court, in this venue that is the best volleyball venue in the entire country. I love BYU, and I love BYU volleyball. Thank you to the Board of Trustees, President Shane Reese, Vice President Vorkink, Brian Santiago and Chad Lewis, for your trust and for the opportunity. This is amazing, and I go way back. I’ve known Brian for 25 years. President Reese used to come into our practices when he was a statistics professor and run regressions and analyzes on how we could play the game better 25 years ago. We’d play a volleyball match, and Chad Lewis, this Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl tight end, would come up to me outside the Student Athlete Building and say ‘Rob, you just played the most amazing match.’ And I think, first of all, how are you watching our matches? And secondly, how do you know who I am and remember my name, and it’s just an incredible group of leadership. I’m so honored to be led by you and supported by you, and I can’t wait to begin.”
“BYU volleyball has an incredible legacy from from Carl (McGown) to Tom (Peterson), to Chris McGown, to Shawn (Olmstead), now on the men’s side, and then, of course, the women’s side, from Elaine (Michaelis), to Jason (Watson), to Shawn (Olmstead) on the women’s side, and to Heather (Olmstead). There is an incredible legacy here to build on, and I’m so excited to be able to push it forward. What an honor to be able to build on what amazing athletes and coaches have built here. Some of the greatest coaches in the nation have come from BYU volleyball. I just want to say thank you to the mentors of mine in the game, obviously, Carl and Chris McGown, John Speraw, Mike Wilton and Hugh McCutcheon. I’ve been honored to be around some of the greatest coaches in volleyball history, and they’ve taught me what championship culture and process looks like. I hope some of that is rubbed off, and I’m excited to share it with our our team.”
“Every BYU coach that’s here and that’s not here. I’m amazed to watch the phenomenal things that are happening around this athletic department. We’re winning in every sport at a high level, and doing it with amazing people that have and share amazing values. I can’t wait to learn from you and be with you and cheer you guys on as you go and do amazing things. Thank you to the amazing staff members. I keep telling people, I’ve met 40 people in the last two days that have an influence over our program and first off, it’s amazing that we have so much support. I’m amazed at the support that we have here at BYU. But of those 40 people I know, 30 of them from 10 years ago that are still around, and it’s just been an amazingly beautiful reunion. It just it feels like home everywhere that I turn.”
“It’s not lost on me that I get to live my dream because of the blood, sweat and tears of our athletes and staff at Utah State, and because of the support of the administration and the community that was so amazing. I love the spot where the sagebrush grows. I’m going to miss it. Sarah and I poured our hearts into that community, and the abundance of love that we got in return is something that we will never forget. I’ve had multiple opportunities to leave there for some big time opportunities, and every time I stayed, more and more I realized that it would take somewhere truly special to tear me away from that spot and this is that place. It’s our promise, Sarah, and mine, that we will pour our hearts into this town, this community, this department, to this fan base and and to these athletes. Loving these women and mentoring them to be the best that they can possibly be, to fulfill their divine potential, their limitless potential, is our directive, and it’s our aim.
“To my incredible wife, I love you, Sarah, to our children, Etta, Liam, Charlotte, Whit and Lois, thank you for your support and your sacrifices that allow me to go chase my dreams. You’re absolutely the best part of who I am.”
“I’m excited for the incredible staff that I get to work with. Thrilled to announce that we just hired Chloe Hirst, who was our associate head coach at Utah State, and so excited to work with her. She is all time good. Together we’ll recruit the best Latter-day Saint players, the best non-Latter-day Saint players, the best international players, playing in front of the ROC, in the best venue in the country, is where many of the best athletes in the country will want to be. We’re going to bring the best teams to play against us in Provo in big time non-conference matches. We’re going to compete with and we’re going to beat the best to become the best versions of ourselves.”
“Finally, to this amazing team of women, thank you for your trust. Thank you for who you are. It’s been amazing to just chat with you the last few weeks. I can’t tell you every conversation that I’ve had has been finished with them asking ‘what help do you need, what can we do for you guys?’ It’s rare, and it’s amazing, and it’s powerful. I’m excited to compete with you, to work with you, to fail with you, to succeed with you, and to grow with you. These will be some of the greatest years of of your life. It’s not going to be easy. It will ask everything of you, but your experiences will influence and inform the rest of your lives for the better. I was lucky to be part of that last 2004 national championship team, and when we get together, we don’t talk about the games, we don’t talk about the wins, we talk about the process, the practices, the trash that we talked to each other, the relationships that we had and the effort that we went through that allowed us to go and do great things. I can’t wait to embark on that process with you guys. It’s going to take your blood, your sweat and your tears, but championship moments await those of us who will dare greatly. So let’s go do great things. Go Cougars.”
