As vice president for university advancement and interim director of athletics at Fort Valley State University, Anthony Holloman has always been a champion for men’s volleyball. Holloman worked with First Point Volleyball Foundation to foster the addition of a new NCAA Division II Men’s Volleyball to the SIAC division, making FVSU one of six schools to add men’s volleyball in a matter of a few short months.
“We think it’s a way to create diversity, create new opportunity for sport; and it’s a sport that we believe we can compete in in short order.”
– Anthony Holloman
Holloman’s success also supports a breakdown of a common volleyball stereotype: it’s primarily a white, “country club” sport. It also means more scholarship opportunities for minorities. “At Fort Valley State University, we are a school of 2,800 students. Eighty-plus percent of our students are African-American, so many of those students are first-generation college students,” Holloman said. “We have 256 of those students as student-athletes. So, if we add men’s volleyball, we will have another 16 to 20 kids that have a chance to go to school with some kind of scholarship support.”
With the addition of men’s volleyball, FSVU is also getting a women’s indoor track and field team. “I think the biggest challenge is we are all trying to make sure we are staying in compliance with Title IX,” Holloman said. “So, as you add another [men’s] sport, then you have to look whether you need to add anything with the female sports.” Now that Holloman has succeeded in his efforts to add men’s volleyball at FSVU, he says the newest challenge will be centered on how to gain the interest of young boys to play for him.
Holloman’s own interest began in 1984 after watching Team USA win a gold medal in Los Angeles. After that, he was hooked. “I watched a men’s Olympic team with Karch Kiraly win the gold medal in Los Angeles, and, you know, from that point on, we played volleyball in school, and it was one of those things we did in P.E.,” he said. Because of this, Holloman said he believes exposure to the sport is the key to getting young boys to play. “I think that’s what happens is the more times you see other people doing things, you believe you can do it too,” he said.
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