UND hires David Nguyen as volleyball coach – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — UND has its new volleyball coach.

The Fighting Hawks have hired David Nguyen from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

He replaces Jesse Tupac, whose contract was not renewed at the end of the season.

Nguyen brought Fairleigh Dickinson to the NCAA tournament in 2022 and won the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championship in 2023.

Nguyen was named NEC coach of the year twice in four seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson.

His teams went 9-5, 11-3, 11-3 and 12-4 in the NEC. Before his arrival, Fairleigh Dickinson went 3-11, 2-6, 3-13, 0-14, 1-13 and 1-13 in the NEC.

“What he has been able to do at FDU was nothing short of remarkable in such a short amount of time,” UND athletic director Bill Chaves said. “To be a two-time NEC Coach of the Year and leading the Knights into the NCAA tournament for the first time in their history is something that he and we believe can be replicated at UND.”

Nguyen will have a similar rebuilding project at UND.

The Fighting Hawks have posted eight consecutive losing seasons as the program spiraled from a strong mid-major under Ashley Hardee (2009-13) and Mark Pryor (2014-18) to a floundering team in the Summit League.

UND went 7-20 and 4-12 in the Summit last season. It has not yet won a match at the Summit League tournament since joining the conference in 2018.

“My mission is to provide our student-athletes a first-class experience by being competitive on and off the court,” Nguyen said. “We are going to work together to build a legacy our student-athletes, alumni, fans and donors can be proud of. I am excited to take this next step in my career, and I look forward to building a volleyball family at North Dakota.”

Fairleigh Dickinson athletics

This will be Nguyen’s first coaching venture out West.

He attended Virginia Commonwealth University from 2013-18, serving as team manager. He was the director of operations at Virginia from 2018-19.

Nguyen was hired as an assistant coach at William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., from 2019-21. He served as an assistant at Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., from 2021-22, before heading to Fairleigh Dickinson in Madison, N.J.

UND has a tie with Fairleigh Dickinson. Chaves’ son, Derek, is a graduate assistant at Fairleigh Dickinson this year.

Lexi Woodcock / Fairleigh Dickinson athletics

Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.