Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) Vice President and Athletics Director Gerald Harrison named Michael Hobson the third head beach volleyball coach in program history Tuesday.
“It truly is a great day to be a Gov!” said Harrison. “I am excited to welcome our new head beach volleyball coach, Michael Hobson, and his wife, Zephyr, to Clarksville. Coach Hobson has had great success throughout his entire coaching career both at the professional and collegiate level. He embodies the ‘Total Gov Concept,’ and I cannot wait to watch his teams excel in the sand, the classroom, and across the entire Clarksville and Montgomery County communities!”
Hobson brings more than 10 years of professional and collegiate coaching experience to Clarksville. He most recently served as the head beach volleyball coach at Louisiana Monroe, where he led the War Hawks to 47 wins over the last two seasons.
“I would like to thank Dr. Michael Licari and Gerald Harrison for giving me this great opportunity to lead the Austin Peay State University beach volleyball team,” said Hobson. “Zephyr and I are thrilled to be joining the Austin Peay State University family and contributing to the ‘Total Gov Concept.’ The support that Austin Peay State University gives to its athletic programs is first-class, and I feel strongly it will not take us long to be a top competitor in a very good ASUN conference. Let’s Go Peay!”
After leading ULM to 11 wins in 2022 – including a victory against Southern Miss in the Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship – Hobson cultivated the largest turnaround in program history, leading the War Hawks to a 31-4 2023 season, which included a 30-2 mark during the regular season.
During that 2023 season, the War Hawks won over 84 percent of their dual matches (135-25), including 17 5-0 sweeps. ULM also posted the fourth undefeated home season in program history and earning a program-best eight wins on their home sand.
ULM also had two pairings – Avery Reynolds and Claire Williamson as well as Julia Blazek and Kaitlyn Nowak – named Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference in 2023. Reynolds and Glen Allen also were the only team in Division I to post at least 30 wins prior to postseason play with a program-record 30-1 mark, with the .968 winning percentage ranking second among all Division I pairings.
Prior to leading ULM on the beach courts, Hobson served as an assistant indoor coach during the 2022 season, where he directed all scouting materials, game plans, orchestrated offensive in-game strategies. Hobson then served as the War Hawks’ interim head coach, December 2022-June 2023.
Before arriving in Monroe, Louisiana, Hobson was an assistant volleyball coach and recruiting coordinator at Seattle for two seasons, building all recruiting and offensive strategies for the Redhawks during the 2020-21 seasons.
Hobson served as the director of volleyball operations during the 2018-19 seasons at Texas Tech, where he organized video and statistical analysis for the Red Raiders, managed team calendars for student-athletes and coaching staff, and supervised team managers and interns.
Hobson officially began his coaching career at Bucknell, where he was for the 2016-17 seasons, comprising defensive strategies for the Bison.
While working in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Hobson also worked as the assistant men’s sitting volleyball coach for USA Volleyball, spearheading defensive game strategies for international competition and also contributed to scouting and video breakdown for upcoming opponents. During his tenure, Team USA competed in the International Cup in Hangzhou, China, to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games, and at the NORSECA Games in Montreal, Canada, which later qualified the team for the 2020 Paralympic Games.
Hobson served as a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State, where he helped establish plans for middle and pin hitters in both offensive work and blocking schemes while also establishing and executing NMSU summer volleyball camps.
Hobson began his career on the sideline at Penn State where he served as the Nittany Lions’ men’s volleyball manager technical coordinator for two seasons. During that time, the PSU earned back-to-back trips to the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Final Four.
Michael Hobson’s Coaching Career
Austin Peay (2024-Pres.) – Head Beach Volleyball Coach
Louisiana Monroe (2022-24) – Head Beach Volleyball Coach
Louisiana Monroe (2022) – Assistant Indoor Volleyball Coach, Interim Head Coach (Dec. 2022-June 2023)
Seattle (2020-22) – Assistant Indoor Volleyball Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Texas Tech (2018-20) – Director of Volleyball Operations
Bucknell (2016-18) – Assistant Indoor Volleyball Coach
USA Volleyball (2016-18) – Assistant Men’s Sitting Volleyball Coach
Northwest Missouri State (2015-16) – Graduate Assistant
Penn State (2013-15) – Men’s Volleyball Technical Coordinator
