Mississippi University for Women Hires Veteran Coach Donna Day to Lead Owls Volleyball
Mississippi University for Women has announced the hiring of Donna Day as its new head volleyball coach. Day, the program’s fifth head coach, brings 17 years of coaching experience, including 12 as a head coach at NCAA Division I and II levels, according to MUW officials.
“We are so blessed to have Coach Day join The W Athletics family,” said MUW Athletic Director Buddy Foster. “She brings a great breadth of experience, leadership, and enthusiasm to the position. To be able to attract a head coach with her coaching pedigree is a tremendous plus for our student-athletes—current and future. We are excited to see where she can take Owls Volleyball.”
Most recently, Day served as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 2022 to 2024. Before that, she spent six seasons at Niagara University, reaching the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament in each of her four seasons as the Purple Eagles’ head coach. Prior to her tenure at Niagara, Day spent eight seasons as head coach at Ohio’s Ursuline College, where her teams earned 25 all-conference awards and maintained a 22-student-athlete scholar-athlete recognition rate. Her teams also earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Academic Team designation in all eight seasons.
Day’s background also includes extensive experience in club volleyball, where she worked as a tournament director, club director, and coach in Ohio’s USA Volleyball region. Her career began in 2004 with an internship at USA Volleyball in Colorado Springs, supporting the High Performance program. During her internship, she observed the U.S. National Team preparing for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in middle childhood education from Cleveland State University in 2002 and a master’s degree in education with a focus on sport management and sport psychology in 2004, graduating Cum Laude.
“I am honored to join Mississippi University for Women as the next head volleyball coach,” Day said. “I want to thank Athletic Director Buddy Foster, Vice President Jessica Harpole, and everyone involved in the search process. From my first conversations with the administration, it was clear that The W is a special place with a strong commitment to its student-athletes. I look forward to building relationships on campus and in the community and creating a championship culture based on hard work, accountability, and genuine care.”
The Owls volleyball team opens its 2026 season on September 4 against Rhodes College at the Covenant College Classic in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
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