A former Big East Coach of the Year and all-conference Ball State University volleyball player isn't returning to Muncie to coach.
Chris Beerman said Tuesday that he doesn't plan to apply for the open Ball State women's volleyball head coaching job and leave his assistant coaching position at the University of Kentucky.
"I'm happy with what we are doing here," he said. "My family is happy in Lexington and it's a great place to be right now. I have a lot of respect for Ball State, but I'm not interested in moving."
Beerman is entering his third season as an assistant coach at Kentucky — which advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Prior to coaching the Wildcats, Beerman was the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh for eight seasons and finished with a 154-89 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
As a player, Beerman was an outside attacker on the Ball State men's volleyball team from 1987-90 and still holds the school record for most kills in a single season and career kills per game average.
Beerman said anytime a Ball State position opens up there is always speculation that former Cardinals will return to coach the team. The coach also said Ball State never contacted him about the coaching position.
The Ball State position became available after Dave Boos announced earlier this month that he was resigning. Boos has since accepted an assistant coaching position at the University of Florida.
Boos arrived to Ball State after being an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota and became the person in more than 20 years to be named head coach of a Ball State volleyball team without having a previous connection to the university.
In Boos' three seasons with Ball State the team had a combined 32-62 and did not advance beyond the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Beerman said he would like to see the university hire someone with a Ball State connection and hopes the administration will move in that direction during this search.
"I hope they hire a good person and get the program back on track," Beerman said.
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