The University of Tennessee Southern

Jackson Lenoir enters his third season as head coach of the FireHawks volleyball program in 2022. In the spring of 2021, during the roller-coaster Covid-19 season, he led his team to a 15-9 (9-7 MSC) overall record. He coached 4 All-Conference players and 9 Academic All-Conference players. Lenoir came to UT Southern with over six years of coaching experience at the collegiate and club levels. On his arrival to campus last year, former athletic director Jeff Bain announced, “We are very excited to announce Jackson Lenoir as our new volleyball coach. We had over 30 candidates apply and Coach Lenoir was our clear choice from the start of the process. Jackson checks off all the boxes that we had set for our goals, which were region and state familiarity, high visible energy to lead and recruit, a strong volleyball background, and an established history of character and leadership. Jackson is someone who has a unique blend of volleyball success that can also relate to today’s generation. We look forward to helping Jackson launch his head coaching career while giving him the tools that he needs to be successful.”

Lenoir’s past experience includes interim head coach at NCAA Division II Christian Brothers University (Memphis, Tennessee) after serving there as an assistant coach for two years and as graduate assistant coach at NAIA Briar Cliff University (Sioux City, Iowa) for the men’s and women’s programs. At the Cliff, he worked under Coach Trevor Schirman, a former NCAA player of the year at UCLA and member of the United States National Team. Lenoir helped coach a total of nine All-Conference players between both programs and helped coach an AVCA All-American while there. Lenoir also served as a student assistant volleyball coach at Milligan University (Tennessee) where he helped guide the women’s program to the conference tournament title match in 2015. Coach Lenoir has also coached several high-profile club teams including Midwest Volleyball Power, the premier club team in Sioux City, Iowa.

Prior to entering the coaching world, Lenoir was a standout player at Milligan and Briar Cliff. While at Milligan, Lenoir was a four-time All-Conference tennis player and served as team captain for the last two seasons. He also played on the men’s volleyball club team. Off the court, Lenoir served as the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes his senior year. During his last semester at Briar Cliff, Lenoir became a member of the men’s volleyball team. He played middle blocker and opposite hitter in the squad’s most successful season in school history. The team made its first-ever appearance in the NAIA National Tournament and was ranked as high as number three in the country. Lenoir led the team in service aces, and hitting percentage, and was third in total kills.

Lenoir’s parents were both athletes at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. His father, Patrick, played football while his mother, Kristy, played volleyball and was an All-SEC standout with records still standing today. She is currently the head volleyball coach at Chattanooga State Community College. Lenoir’s brother, Bailey, was an All-SOCON selection in football at UT-Chattanooga; and his sister, Emma, played volleyball at Christian Brothers where she holds the school record for most kills. In 2019, she was the NCAA Division II active career kills leader. Emma currently is the assistant volleyball coach at Anderson University (South Carolina).

Lenoir is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Milligan University in 2016, his Master of Arts in Sports Management from Briar Cliff University in 2018, and his MBA from Christian Brothers University in 2020.

Coaching History

Milestones at UTS

First Victory: vs Williams Baptist, 3-0 (Oct. 13, 2020)

First MSC: vs Life, 3-2 (Feb. 22, 2021)

First in MSC Tournament: vs. Pikeville (Apr. 8, 2021)

First vs NAIA Top-25 Opponent: vs #23 Lindsey Wilson, 3-0 (Mar. 12, 2021)

First vs NAIA Top-10 Opponent: n/a

First vs NAIA Top-5 Opponent: n/a

Win vs Highest-Ranked Opponent: vs #23 Lindsey Wilson, 3-0 (Mar. 12, 2021)

Highest NAIA Coaches' Poll Ranking: n/a

Total NAIA Coaches' Polls Appeared in: n/a

Longest Win Streak: 5 (Feb. 27, 2021- Mar. 6, 2021)