Rick Nold, who served as head coach at Jacksonville State the previous nine seasons, has been named the head volleyball coach at Auburn University, Athletics Director Jay Jacobs announced Sunday.

Nold, 41, directed the Gamecocks to unprecedented heights during his tenure, winning three regular season conference titles, three conference tournament titles and making three NCAA postseason appearances. He compiled an overall record of 172-98, while posting a 107-42 mark in league games.

“I am honored and excited to lead the volleyball program at Auburn University,” Nold said. “This is a wonderful opportunity, both personally and professionally, and I hope to build on the recent success the team has experienced.  I want to thank Jay Jacobs, David Mines, Meredith Jenkins and the rest of the search committee for their support and confidence in me to represent Auburn and I look forward to competing for championships very soon with this group of hard-working young women.”

A three-time conference coach of the year, Nold led the Gamecocks to an Ohio Valley Conference regular season or tournament title in four of the past six seasons. He captured the OVC regular season in 2006, ’07 and ’09, while winning the conference tournament title in 2005, ’06 and ’09.

“I also want to thank the Jacksonville State administration for giving me my first head coaching opportunity,” Nold said. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with and coaching some truly great people and I will cherish those memories forever.”

Jacksonville State advanced the NCAA Division I Tournament in 2005, ’06 and ’09 under Nold, the only NCAA postseason appearances in the program’s history. In 2009, Nold led the program to another milestone by winning the school’s first NCAA Tournament match, over Florida A&M.

“We are very pleased to have Rick Nold as our next volleyball coach at Auburn University,” said Jacobs. “Rick achieved a tremendous amount of success at Jacksonville State, both on and off the volleyball court, and we are excited to have him on board to build on the foundation that has been laid at Auburn.”

Nold’s 2009 team finished the season 27-8, the most wins in program history, swept both conference titles and advanced to the NCAA second round. He was rewarded by being named the OVC Coach of the Year as well as the Midwest Region Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

In 2006, the Gamecocks were 24-5 overall and posted a perfect 18-0 mark in conference play, sweeping all but one conference match. At one time that season, JSU won 49 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation.

A 1998 graduate of the University of Louisville, Nold’s teams not only excelled on the court, but also in the classroom. During his tenure, JSU had 46 volleyball players named to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, eight OVC Academic Medal of Honor winners, one Academic All-American and a two-time OVC Female Athlete of the Year.

Nold came to Jacksonville State from his alma mater, where he spent six years on the Cardinals’ staff, the last four as a full-time assistant whose duties included recruiting coordinator. During his time at Louisville, the Cardinals won four Conference USA titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 1996 and 1998.