Volleyball head coach Jerritt Elliott receives contract extension
AUSTIN, Texas -- Jerritt Elliott, in his fifth year as University of Texas women's volleyball coach, has been awarded a multi-year contract extension through February 2009, as announced Wednesday by UT Women's Athletics Director Chris Plonsky. The contract extension was approved by the UT Board of Regents at their last meeting. Terms of the deal were not released. Under Elliott's direction, Texas has gone to the NCAA Championships three times (2001, 2003 and 2004), while players have earned four All-America honors the last two years. In addition, UT's 2003 recruiting class was ranked second-best in the nation by Volleyball Magazine, while the 2004 recruiting class was rated 10th. The 2005 class rankings have not yet been released. "Jerritt has strengthened and re-energized our volleyball program since his arrival, and he is very deserving of this extension," noted Plonsky. "He came to Texas at a point where the volleyball program needed to be re-seeded in every way. He has hired an outstanding staff, re-established wonderful relationships with our Texas Exes, with the local volleyball community and with coaches across the state of Texas while also building a commanding presence on the national recruiting scene." Elliott, who originally signed a five-year contract upon his arrival at Texas in 2001, has led Texas to an 87-43 mark (.670) entering the September 21st match with Big 12 opponent Kansas, while bringing the program back to national prominence. His overall head coaching mark stands at 137-54 (.717). Last year, the Longhorns posted a 26-5 record, finished second in the highly-regarded Big 12 Conference, and advanced to the NCAA Championship round of 16 where UT lost a tight, three-game match to eventual NCAA champion Stanford. Texas finished the year ranked No. 11, marking the program's best finish in the polls since the 1998 campaign. UT also posted five victories over Top-25 teams during the course of the season. For his efforts, Elliott claimed All-Central Region Coach of the Year honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and also earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors. "Jerritt and his staff have elevated our volleyball program nationally, and we are seeing great success in terms of our on-court results and in recruiting," Plonsky continued. "I like what Jerritt Elliott brings to UT Athletics; he is creative and demanding in the fact that he is always looking to try new things in and around his program. We pride ourselves on being a family here, and I know that Jerritt has great pride in both his young family and in UT Athletics. He takes great care to balance those family responsibilities with his coaching duties." Prior to coming to Texas, Elliott posted two impressive seasons as interim head coach at the University of Southern California, compiling a 50-12 mark overall while leading the 2000 Women of Troy squad (29-3) to its first NCAA semifinal appearance in 15 years and to the No. 4 final ranking. Elliott had back-to-back No. 1 national recruiting classes at USC. He was honored as Pac-10 Coach of the Year both seasons. "We weren't talking championships when Jerritt was hired," Plonsky said, "but we now see Texas contending for volleyball championships with what he is building." Elliott, a native of Pacific Palisades, Calif., resides in Austin with his wife, Sarah, and their two children (daughter Kahle, 7, and infant son Parker, born on July 26).
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