Feb. 4, 2008

ATHENS, Ohio-Ohio head volleyball coach Geoff Carlston has announced Monday that he will resign as head coach. Carlston, the winningest coach in the history of the program, will take over the vacant coaching position at Ohio State University.

"For nearly six years, I have been blessed to be a part of an incredible community of people in Athens," Carlston said. "To all of those fans who have been there for our team and to the administration that has tirelessly supported our program, I truly thank you. Finally, I want to send my tremendous gratitude to all of the amazing Ohio Volleyball players, past and present, for believing in the program's dreams and teaching me so much along the way."

During his five seasons at the helm of the Bobcat program, Carlston reached unparalleled levels of success, leading the squad to a ranking in the AVCA's Top 25 for 42 consecutive weeks. This season, Ohio achieved its highest ranking in school history at No. 13 after registering two of the biggest wins in school history over No. 9 Minnesota and No. 12 San Diego.

Carlston took over a program that had never won a Mid-American Conference Championship, and in his five seasons he led the team to five consecutive Mid-American Conference Championships and four MAC Tournament titles.

"We sincerely thank Geoff Carlson for all that he has done for our department, university and community," said Ohio Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt. "He has elevated Ohio volleyball to national prominence. Geoff is an excellent coach and I have personally enjoyed working with him for three years."

Under Carlston, the Bobcats made five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history in 2005. This past season, the Bobcats received their first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were selected as a host institution for the First and Second Rounds of the tournament for the first time in school history.

Carlston's record while at Ohio was 144-22 (.867) and his record against the MAC was even more impressive. His Bobcat teams went 92-3 (.968) against the MAC, 78-2 (.975) in regular season play and 14-1 (.933) in the MAC Tournament. From Nov. 8, 2003 through Sept. 28, 2007, Carlston's Bobcats won 64 consecutive MAC matches. His .968 winning percentage against MAC foes is the highest in conference history.

The Convocation Center also became one of the toughest places for opponents to play during his time at Ohio. The Bobcats went from drawing under 400 fans a match when he arrived to finishing in the Top 25 in the country in attendance each of the last two seasons. From Sept. 28, 2002 through Sept. 28, 2007 the Bobcats won 47 straight matches at the Convocation Center, the 13^th most in NCAA Division I history.

Individually, Carlston earned national and regional recognition as one of the top coaches in the country. In 2005, he was named Mideast Region Coach of the Year, Collegiate Volleyball Update Coach of the Year Honorable Mention and Tachikara/AVCA National Coach of the Year Honorable Mention. He was also named MAC Coach of the Year for four straight seasons (2003-06).

"We will immediately begin our search for a new coach," Hocutt said. "There is no timetable. We have an extremely talented group of young women on our team and we will find the right individual to continue Ohio's championship tradition."