TULSA, Oklahoma – Oral Roberts volleyball head coach Nolan Albrecht has announced the hiring of Karl France as an assistant coach ahead of the 2026 season, Albrecht's second at the helm of the Golden Eagles.
France arrives at ORU after five seasons as the first-ever head men's volleyball coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), where he compiled a 50-75 overall record and guided the Knights to back-to-back NEC tournament appearances in 2024 and 2025. In 2026, France led FDU to a program-record 14 victories and the program's first-ever NEC Championship match appearance, falling to Saint Francis U. He also developed the 2026 NEC Defensive Player of the Year during his tenure.
"From our first conversations, it was clear Karl shares the vision for what we're building here with Oral Roberts Volleyball. His background in volleyball includes head coach of NCAA D1 programs, earning national awards, & coaching the nation's best with USA Volleyball," said Albrecht. "As we continue pursuing a championship culture, Karl is the right person to help us recruit and retain the student-athletes who will accomplish the "both/and" goals we seek at ORU. I'm excited to announce Karl as assistant coach and our whole program takes a step forward as he joins our staff."
While building the FDU program from the ground up, France also stepped in as the Knights' interim women's volleyball head coach prior to the 2021-22 season, leading the team to eight wins, including three within the NEC. Under his leadership, the FDU women's team upset Big East member Georgetown in five sets on Sept. 17, 2021. Following FDU's 2021 season, France joined the coaching staff of Team GEVA at the USA Volleyball 2022 All-Star Championship, having previously served as an assistant coach with the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program in July 2021.
France's coaching resume also includes a lengthy tenure at NYU, where he served as an assistant men's and women's volleyball coach from 2002-2007 and again from 2011-2021, in addition to a stint as interim head women's volleyball coach in 2017-2018. He was twice named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Assistant Coach of the Year, earning the honor in 2017 and 2020. In his final season with the Violets' men's program, NYU finished 13-3 with a No. 2 national ranking. As interim head coach of the NYU women's program, France turned around a 5-19 start to close the season 6-3.
Over the course of his career, France has coached one New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year (2017), nine All-Americans (2004-2020), one AVCA Newcomer of the Year (2017), one NCAA Blocks per Set statistical champion (2017) and one National Player of the Year (2006). He was appointed to the UAA Mosaic Committee, where he became one of the group's leading voices, and also served on the AVCA Diversity Development Team.
Prior to NYU, France served as head men's volleyball coach and director of volleyball operations at Rutgers-Newark from 2007-2011, tallying 46 wins on the men's side and 17 with the women while qualifying for two Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) tournaments and winning two division titles. In 2010, his Rutgers-Newark squad notched an EIVA conference victory over national powerhouse Penn State, 3-1. He also spent time as head coach of NJ Attack in USA Volleyball from 2015-2016.
France began his collegiate head coaching career at Mount Saint Vincent, where he led the men's and women's programs from 1998-2002. He guided the women's program to three Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference championships and led the men's team to three North East Collegiate Volleyball Association titles, along with a Top 15 national ranking.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., France earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Bowling Green.
For the latest information on ORU volleyball, follow @ORUVolleyball on X or go to www.ORUAthletics.com.
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