Plainville, Texas - Legendary Wayland Baptist Volleyball Head Coach Jim Giacomazzi has announced he is stepping down as head coach and shifting his main focus towards his Director of Athletics position.
 
"The support I've had from Dr. Bobby Hall and Dr. Claude Lusk helped me grow, not only as a person and coach, but also as an administrator," said Giacomazzi. "Their guidance has been very helpful, and all of these administrator's passion for the university was very well known."
 
Giacomazzi took over as head coach of the Pioneer volleyball program back in 2007 and immediately experienced great success. In his 18 seasons as the head coach, Giacomazzi compiled a 344-251 overall record (72.9% winning percentage). His 344 career wins at Wayland Baptist is the most in program history by 240 wins (Brad Borden is second with 104.) In addition to leading the Pioneer Volleyball program, Giacomazzi also served as the Pioneer Golf Coach on two separate stints.
 
Giacomazzi's 2013 squad was the greatest team ever assembled in Pioneer volleyball history – earning the program's first NAIA tournament appearance and ultimately reaching the Final Four. Giacomazzi won the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season twice and the SAC Tournament three times.
 
Giacomazzi has won the NAIA Tournament Coach of the Year award once, the SAC Coach of the Year award once, and coached seven All-Americans and 23 NAIA Scholar Athletes.
 
Giacomazzi is married to Trisha, an assistant professor of education at WBU. They have three children, Kris, Nick and former WBU volleyball player Natasha, as well as four grandchildren.
 
While at West Texas A&M, Trisha served as Coach Giacomazzi's assistant coach, and together their team won the 1991 NCAA Division II National Championship. After that monumental year in their careers, they followed that up with a third-place finish in the 1992 National Championships.
 
Giacomazzi was drafted in the 16^th round of the Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft by the San Diego Padres. He went on to play professional baseball within the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs organizations from 1981-1983 before turning to coaching.
 
Coach Giacomazzi began his coaching career as a student assistant coach at Azusa Pacific University, where he later was promoted to assistant coach. During Giacomazzi's time at Azusa, they accomplished many significant milestones - winning the 1979 AIAW Small College National Championships, winning the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship in 1980, which was the first year the NAIA hosted a National Championship for women.
 
In 1983, the Director of Athletics at Azusa asked Coach Giacomazzi if he would coach the school's baseball team, which he happily accepted. It was his first year as a Head Coach in any sport. After a challenging 3-17 start to the season, Coach Giacomazzi began pondering if he should leave the professional side of baseball. However, his team found their momentum after that slow start and ended up winning 26 of their final 28 games, ultimately taking home second place in the NAIA National Baseball Championships.
 
Giacomazzi is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, having served on the board of directors the past five years including as chair of the Head Coaches Committee. He is a board member and the Junior Rep for the Sun Country Region of USA Volleyball. In addition, he is a Master IMPACT Clinician and holds a CAP III Certification with USA Volleyball.
 
Giacomazzi took over as Wayland Baptist Director of Athletics back in June of 2022 and has elevated the school's athletic program in many ways, including the addition of two new sports (softball and beach volleyball.)
 
"I have to thank all of the players who have played for me over the years. That is the biggest thing I will miss more than anything else. Yeah the x's and o's are fun and winning games are fun, but the relationships with the players and seeing their growth and improvements, not just as volleyball players, but as humans is what really tugs at my heart," Giacomazzi referenced what he will miss most about coaching.
 
"I am going to miss the day-to-day interactions with those players."
 
Wayland Baptist Athletics will begin a nationwide search to find their next head coach.