Joe Sagula can trace his passion for volleyball back to his sophomore year when he was a student at the State University of New York at New Paltz. In high school his focus was primarily track and field, but after his track coach departed for another career opportunity, Sagula decided to take a chance and tryout for the volleyball team. Sagula never imagined that that decision would evolve into a 39-year coaching career.
"I'm involved with this sport because of what happened at New Paltz in my sophomore year," Sagula said. "I remember Elting Gym, all the things I learned as a teammate, living in New Paltz and working in town, the people I've met and the teammates back in those days who I am still friends with today. They've all had a great impact on me and my career and I hope I can continue to be successful and make them proud."
While attending SUNY New Paltz, Sagula earned three letters as a setter on the volleyball team and became the team captain his senior year. He graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 1979 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Drawing & Painting, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Art Education K-12 with a minor in coaching. Sagula's success during his time as a Hawk earned him a spot on the SUNY New Paltz Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
The same year Sagula graduated from SUNY New Paltz, he secured a position as an art teacher as well as coaching positions for both the women's volleyball team and the track and field team at Walter Panas High School down in the lower Hudson Valley. Two years later, a friend came to Sagula and told him about an opening for the head women's volleyball coaching position at the University of Pennsylvania.
"It's really a matter of an opportunity presenting itself at the right time at a young age, going that way and saying, 'OK if I don't feel like this is for me I'll go back to teaching,' and I haven't gone back yet," Sagula recalled.
Although he is no longer a teacher in the classroom, Sagula extended his teaching on to the court.
"I've been really happy where I am now. I consider coaching to be teaching and still working with young people every day," he said. "The coaching part of what I do is teaching the game: leadership, teamwork, skills and organization."
After nine very successful seasons with the Quakers, Sagula jumped at the opportunity to become the next head coach at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and has been at the helm of the program since he accepted the position in 1990. Although Sagula has resided in North Carolina for the past 28 years his heart is still in New Paltz, where his future in the sport all began.
Sagula recently completed his 28th season with the Tar Heels. As the most successful volleyball coach in North Carolina history, Sagula has led the women's team to seven ACC Championships with the most recent coming in 2016. He has been at the helm for 14 of the program's 19 NCAA tournament appearances in addition to being named the 17th coach in NCAA Division I history to have 600 career victories.
Sagula attributed much of what influenced who he is today to his former coach at SUNY New Paltz, the late Dr. William T. Odeneal. Odeneal was at the helm of the Hawks men's volleyball team from 1970-1987 and during his 17-year coaching career compiled an impressive 254-130-5 record. Like Sagula, Odeneal was inducted into the SUNY New Paltz Hall of Fame in 2012.
"He had a passion for the game of volleyball. It was a part of his life and I just admired that about him," Sagula said. "I just wanted to know I could be someone like William Odeneal. He had a great family, was a great teacher and great coach who cared about all the student-athletes and really went out of his way to connect well with me. I thought that that's the kind of person and coach that I want to be."
Sagula said he will continue to challenge himself, the coaching staff and his players, who he believes will have an exciting season coming up this fall. After numerous injuries in the 2017 season, 2018 will be the start of a rebuilding year for the Tar Heels women's volleyball team. Sagula remains optimistic, and prepared to take on a new challenge.
"It's a matter of re-establishing ourselves and rebuilding who we are and getting back to being one of the top-10 programs in the country," Sagula said. "I think that we can be successful, but it is going to be a big learning curve for us this year, but I am excited about it. I am excited to start this new chapter of our program."
