Cal Poly hires Olympic gold medalist Todd Rogers to coach beach volleyball team

Former Olympian and FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship goal medalist Todd Rogers has been hired to coach Cal Poly’s beach volleyball team, according to a release put out by the school Tuesday afternoon.

The Mustangs are fielding a beach volleyball team for the third year and the season is scheduled to begin March 3 at Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz. Cal Poly is one of six teams competing in the Big West Conference, along with CSUN, Hawaii, Long Beach State, Sacramento State and CSU Bakersfield.

Rogers’ volleyball résumé is as impressive as they come.

The 1997 AVP Rookie of the Year, Rogers went on to win a gold medal in beach volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He earned AVP’s most valuable player honors in 2006 and 2007, and was selected as the top defensive player five consecutive seasons (2004 to 2008).

“We’re extremely excited about the hiring of Todd Rogers as a coach for our beach program at Cal Poly,” head coach Sam Crosson said in the release. “He’s one of the most successful players in the history of beach volleyball and his knowledge, experience and understanding will have a significant impact on our beach program.”

Rogers attended San Marcos High and went on to play four seasons at UC Santa Barbara, twice earning All-American honors.

His only previous collegiate coaching experience came as an assistant for UC Santa Barbara’s indoor men’s volleyball team from 2000 to 2005.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Cal Poly hires Olympic gold medalist Todd Rogers to coach beach volleyball team."