Rutgers-Newark Athletics

Karl France is in his fourth season of rebuilding the Rutgers-Newark men’s and women’s volleyball programs. Named the head volleyball coach/coordinator of volleyball operations in June 2007, he has helped the Scarlet Raiders men forge a two-year record of 13-2 in the EIVA Hay Division while the women’s program is poised to battle for post-season play in 2010. 

The Scarlet Raider men punched their ticket to rise back to the EIVA’s prestigious Tait Division by rolling to an 8-0 Hay Division mark in 2010. The Raiders posted a stunning upset of AVCA nationally-ranked Penn State and swept George Mason to highlight a fine 13-13 overall ledger. In 2009, Rutgers-Newark shared the EIVA Hay regular-season title with a 5-2 mark. 

France returns to the Scarlet Raider women’s bench this season with a solid roster which includes seven returning letterwinners blended in with a talented rookie class. 

France is the school’s first coordinator of volleyball, overseeing all aspects of both the women’s and men’s programs. 

The Brooklyn native knows the Rutgers-Newark program and its EIVA competitors well, having served as the assistant men’s volleyball coach at nearby New York University for the five seasons. 

At NYU, France assisted Jose Pina, helping the Violets to two NCAA appearances. The 2004 team went a perfect 12-0 in the EIVA Hay and achieved a #2 national ranking. 

Prior to his stint in Manhattan, France was the men’s and women’s head volleyball coach at the College of Mount St. Vincent from 1998 to 2002. He posted an overall record of 76-46 with the men’s program, being named the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Coach of the Year in 2000. He guided his men to three Metro East first-place finishes and three NECVA playoff appearances, earning a conference runner-up finish in 2002.

On the women’s side of the ledger at Mount St. Vincent, he was voted the Skyline Conference Co-Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2002 as well as the Hudson Valley Women’s Athletic Conference South Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2001. Mount St. Vincent won three HVWAC tournament titles and claimed three Skyline Tournament berths in his three seasons at the helm.

France was the head coach of the New York City Men’s Open volleyball squad in the 2005 Empire State Games as well as the NYC’s Scholastic Women’s team mentor from 2002 through 2004. He coached volleyball, basketball, softball and swimming at the Marymount School in Manhattan before landing the dual job at Mount St. Vincent.

France played three seasons of club volleyball at Bowling Green University before earning his bachelor’s degree in communications in 1991. He participated in swimming and soccer at Brooklyn Tech High School.

He served as an on-air analyst for CSTV during the broadcast of the 2005 EIVA Championship match.