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For the first time in almost a decade, NJIT will have a new head coach on its sidelines next season.
NJIT athletics director Lenny Kaplan announced Wednesday that the university will not renew the contract for men’s volleyball head coach Ryan McNeil.
McNeil since becoming the Highlanders head coach in 2004 led the team to 98-165 combined record. In addition, NJIT has missed the four-team EIVA Tournament the last four seasons, including most recently finishing in seventh place at 3-11 in conference play.
NJIT did not have a losing record in McNeil’s first three years as the head coach. The Highlanders also had a 19-10 overall record in 2007 and reached the 2008 EIVA Tournament semifinals before losing to then-No. 11 George Mason in five games.
NJIT has not had a winning record since that 2008 season.
Along with being the men’s volleyball head coach, McNeil served as the head coach for the NJIT women’s volleyball team from 2005 to 2008.
“We thank Ryan for efforts on behalf of NJIT and our men’s volleyball program and I wish him well in his future endeavors,” Kaplan said in a statement. “We are looking to take the program in a new direction and we have begun the search for a new head coach.”
McNeil is the first head coach this year to not have his contract renewed among NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams. It is also the first time a coaching change has been made in the EIVA since Sacred Heart hired Kalani Efstathlou in 2012.