NSU taps Tramel as volleyball coach

The Nicholls State University Athletics Department announced Thursday that Washington State assistant coach TeAna Tramel has agreed to become the school’s new head volleyball coach.

Tramel’s will become the seventh head coach in the program’s 35-year history, pending approval by the University of Louisiana Systems Board.

“We are pleased to add TeAna to our staff,” said Colonels’ Athletics Director Rob Bernardi in a press release. “She brings a tremendous amount of experience having been a head coach and an assistant in the Pac-10. I know our student-athletes will benefit from her leadership and coaching experience.”

Tramel has three years of head coaching experience, having served as the head coach at Cameron University in Oklahoma (2005) and Bethany College in Kansas (2006-07) prior to becoming an assistant at Washington State.

As a head coach, Tramel compiled a 47-40-1 record.

With Washington State, the coach helped the Cougars advance to their first NCAA Tournament in seven seasons during the 2009 season.

The new Nicholls coach also has Louisiana ties, as she spent two seasons as a player with the University of Louisiana-Monroe before transferring to New Mexico State to complete her playing career.

Those Louisiana ties, as well as a conversation with Nicholls’ Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator, Louise ‘Do’ Bonin, are what she said led her to the new job.

“It’s obviously an opportunity to be an NCAA Division I head coach in a conference and area I’m familiar with,” she said in the release. “Then, once I set foot on campus, the family atmosphere was amazing and a big draw. Coach ‘Do’ was real with me and told me everything about the program and the town and gave me a chance to meet with our players, and it seemed like a great place to be.”

Tramel’s hire ends a month-long search for a new coach after Chris Laird resigned on June 21.

Under Laird, the Colonels compiled a 40-90 record in five seasons.

That’s a record the team hopes to turn upside-down under Tramel, who has experience with rebuilding programs throughout her career.

“I believe that every place I’ve been, I’ve taken the good with the bad, and it’s helped make me who I am right now,” Tramel said. “That’s what I plan on bringing to Nicholls. I’ve had experiences as a head coach at the NAIA and Division II levels, and as an assistant as Pac-10 school. I’ve played in the Southland Conference and Sun Belt Conference, and I’ve taken a little bit of everything from each of those places. I think all those experiences will help our team this fall.”

The Colonels’ will begin the Tramel Era in just a few weeks as the Colonels open their season Aug. 27 against Kennesaw State in Hattiesburg, Miss.