Delayed by COVID, Fort Valley State launches historic men’s volleyball program

Fort Valley State University is set for a historic debut this week as it becomes one of the first HBCUs to start a men’s volleyball team.

At the helm will be the head coach Larry Wrather and his dad, Edward. Larry, a former D-1 volleyball player at Ball State, was hired to lead the FVSU women’s volleyball team and build the men’s program.

In 2019, the Wildcats were part of a group of six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that received $150,000 from both USA Volleyball and the First Point Volleyball Foundation, along with Morehouse, Central State University, Benedict College, Paine College and Kentucky State University.

The organizations also provided $100,000 to FVSU’s conference, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).

The program’s first game was scheduled for last year, but it was pushed back due to the pandemic.

“It is a historic year to have an HBCU start men’s volleyball. It hasn’t been done in the history of men’s volleyball and being a part of that is always great,” Larry Wrather said. “To have another men’s conference of six starting up is awesome for the growth of the men’s game, which is something that we are really striving for here in Georgia… Being able to do it at an HBCU not only allows us to grow our game, but grow it in the communities.”

Fort Valley State will square off on Friday with King University in Bristol, Tennessee, the end of a long wait for Wrather and the start of a new journey. It’s one he’s grateful to be on with his father, Edward, who got him into the game of volleyball and has been a coach since the 1980s.

‘“For me, it was a no-brainer to bring him on as a staff member to help me push this dream and this vision forward,” Larry Wrather said. “It is special for me and him because we will always be in the history books as a father-son duo starting something up. It is a blessing to me to be able to do this with my father while I can.”

Going against the grain

One of the hardest parts of getting the program off the ground has been the recruiting process. The Wildcats signed their first class in 2020 but due to the pandemic, all but one player opted to leave to pursue other opportunities.

This season they brought in another new crop of players to be a part of the first team to represent Fort Valley State in men’s volleyball.

Wrather said it takes a special kind of player to want to be a part of building a program from the ground up and it isn’t the easiest selling point as many players want to go to already established programs.

“We got a lot of good guys that wanted to commit to doing something new and as a visionary, being that oddball and going against the grain of what everyone else is used to,” Wrather said. “Not all are willing to start it from the ground up and be OK with struggles that are going to come. They want to go where it is already set in stone.

“But those aren’t really kids we are looking for. We want those kids that want to be the trendsetters. It is hard to get those kids, but when you find the right ones, it is easy.”

Growing the game in Georgia

Fort Valley State’s initial schedule features more than 20 matches, including one against PAC-12 power UCLA in Georgia. It is a rarity in college sports for a Power 5 school to play against a start-up team on the road.

UCLA head coach John Speraw agreed to come and play in Fort Valley because of his relationship with the Wrathers. Speraw recruited Larry to play for him at UC-Irvine out of high school. The pair have stayed in touch over the years and have kept up a friendship centered around growing the game of men’s volleyball.

Wrather said having UCLA travel to play against them is a huge deal, a chance to help change the landscape of men’s volleyball in Georgia.

“He wants to come to help us build the Georgia system. We will do some camps and clinics. We will have open practices with them to where kids can come in and see what a college practice looks like,” Wrather said. “Other big matches on the schedule are any in-conference matches. We are trying to be the number one dog in this conference.”

Fort Valley State’s Friday night matchup against King University will be the Wildcats’ season opener after their first game against Reinhardt was postponed because of COVID-19. The minor setback means FVSU’s newest athletics program will begin its competitive life on the road, but Wrather considers that another test for his players.

“I have been chomping at the bit since last year, when we were supposed to have our first season. I just want to see what my guys look like against someone other than themselves,” Wrather said. “[King University] will be another test. Instead of opening at home, we open on the road. It is even harder… To start our season that way, I really prefer it. It is getting thrown into the hot water and seeing how we react to it.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 12:00 AM.