PRINESS ANNE - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Athletic Department has been forced to make the difficult decision to push back the planned start of the new Women’s Beach Volleyball program until the spring of 2023.

The program’s planned start date was announced in November of 2020, but the specter of the pandemic loomed heavy then.

“Because of the unconventional recruiting cycle this year and other financial challenges related to the pandemic, we thought it would prudent to push back the launch of our program,” Director of Athletics Keith Davidson said. “We always knew that this was a possibility because of the uncertainty of college athletics at this still challenging time.”

While the decision was not an easy one, it was necessary and the volleyball coaching staff has used this as an opportunity to build an even stronger foundation for next year’s launch.

“The delay is going to give us time to build a strong schedule and a full roster for the initial season,” head coach Trevor Callarman said. “The setbacks caused by COVID made that difficult, but recruiting has continued and there is a bright future ahead for the program.”

When it launches, Hawks Beach Volleyball will be the 15^th NCAA sport for the University and will still be the first NCAA HBCU to participate in the sport adding much needed diversity to the landscape.

There are currently just 81 total schools with NCAA beach volleyball teams encompassing both Division I, Division II and Division III. The NCAA contests a combined championship regardless of Division just like it does for bowling.

“While it would have been ideal to begin a program like this by building on the momentum of an Olympic year to help generate interest, we are confident that after this delay our program will still serve to boost enrollment and attract new athletes to Princess Anne,” Davidson said.