Tenth year of athletics at GovState comes with new additions
As Governors State University (GovState) Jaguar athletes gear up for the academic year, Athletics is entering their 10th year competing and ushering in some new additions, too.
Over the summer, Athletics Director Tony Bates announced that the new men’s volleyball team, GovState’s 15th varsity team, will compete in varsity National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) competition starting with the 2024-25 school year.
Head Coach Jessica Reyes (holding a volleyball pictured with Graduate Assistant Coach Gabriela Barbosa) will coach the men’s and women’s volleyball teams.
"I am excited to be the Head Coach of Men's and Women's Volleyball teams at Governors State University," said Coach Reyes. "I will recruit student-athletes to compete for CCAC conference championships in both sports. Go Jaguars!"
Men’s volleyball isn’t the only new thing coming to GovState Athletics this year. The department also revealed the launch of their Coed Esports program with Kareem Badr named as the Head Esports Coach.
“Starting up the GovState Esports team is an exciting opportunity for me. My main goal is to build strong teams in Overwatch, Rocket League, and Valorant,” said Badr. “In the first few months, I want to focus on recruiting talented players and creating a coed environment where anyone feels welcome and valued. I believe in the importance of cultural representation and giving students a voice, so I want to make sure our program reflects those values.”
GovState will compete with the NAIA national power Esports programs in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Conference.
Click here to read Athletics’ full announcement about the men’s volleyball team and click here for their Instagram post.
Click here to read Athletics’ full post about the Esports program.