The University of Minnesota volleyball program has hired Scott Swanson as an assistant coach, according to announcement by head coach Mike Hebert on Monday, Feb. 6. Swanson will assume primary recruiting responsibilities from Jill Pearson, who recently left to pursue other career opportunities.

“Scott brings to our program tons of experience as a recruiter at the Division I level,” said Hebert. “He also carries with him the reputation of being an excellent in the gym coach.”

Swanson has been the head coach at UTEP for the past four seasons. Last year, he guided the Miners to a 21-10 record and a fourth place finish in Conference USA at 10-6. The 21 wins were a +11 turnaround from the previous season, which was tied for the 10th-best turnaround in the nation by a Division I women’s volleyball program in 2005. The 21-10 record was also UTEP’s best since the 1989 season.

In his four years at UTEP, the program accomplished several first-time achievements. This past year, Kari Stacy was an Honorable-Mention All-American for the Miners. She was the first player to grab that honor, along with Midwest All-Region, in school history. Swanson also helped UTEP garner its first multiple All-WAC honorees in 2003 as outside hitter Jennifer Abbruzzese and libero Sarah Davis garnered the awards.

Swanson also served on the NCAA West Region volleyball committee last fall and recruited Brooke Peugh, the first prep All-American to sign with UTEP. In the summer of the 2005, he coached a Team 2-Ball Express to a bronze medal at the U.S. Open Men’s National Championships in Denver, Colo.

He came to UTEP after serving six years as the associate head coach at Arizona State. His responsibilities with the Sun Devils included coordinating recruiting as well as the technical aspects of the game.

While at Arizona State, Swanson helped produce two NCAA Tournament teams in 1999 and 2000 after a three-year absence from the postseason play. In 2000, Arizona State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Swanson was also the head coach for the Arizona East Valley Juniors Volleyball Club. His 16-1’s team played for a national championship, taking second among the top 32 teams in the nation. Swanson earned the 1995 Cactus Region Male Coach of the Year Award. He also headed up the USA Volleyball High Performance team, Arizona High Performance, in the summer of 2001.

In 2002, Swanson coached a men’s open team of former collegiate players to a third-place finish at the U.S. Open in Dallas. He was also one of 31 coaches serving on the American Volleyball Coaches Association head coaches committee.

The Arizona native played for the Arizona State volleyball team for four years, including as a captain. Swanson moved on to become coach of the Sun Devil men’s team in 1995 and assisted in 1996.

Swanson was a 1997 graduate of Arizona State with a degree in Family Studies.

“I feel like working with Mike Hebert and the University of Minnesota volleyball program is an amazing opportunity,” said Swanson. “I have a lot of respect for the program and am thrilled to be part of it.”