The winningest coach in LBSU history, Alan Knipe retires a four-time national champion. Photo courtesy of LBSU Athletics
Alan Knipe, who built a national powerhouse at Long Beach State as a head coach and player, walks away a champion. The three-time NCAA championship-winning head coach and one-time champion as a player for Long Beach State men’s volleyball, Knipe, has announced his retirement on Monday, Dec. 1.
“I was once told, you will know when you know… I guess I know,” Knipe said in a statement to LBSU Athletics. “Long Beach State men’s volleyball will always live in my heart. I look forward to watching the program continue to grow and thrive for generations to come.”
The three-time American Volleyball Coaches’ Association Coach of the Year retires fresh off his third championship as head coach with The Beach, which saw star freshman setter Moni Nikolov lead the team past UCLA in the NCAA Tournament final on May 12.
Including Nikolov, Knipe has guided seven athletes to the AVCA National Player of the Year award through his tenure as the winningest coach in LBSU history.
After being part of all four national titles in the program’s history, first in 1991 as a key player before leading LBSU to three more at the helm of the program, Knipe was recognized for his career excellence in October with the announcement of his induction to the AVCA 2025 Hall of Fame class.
“It means a lot to be considered to go into the [AVCA] Hall of Fame, I don’t take it lightly,” Knipe said. “I just can’t stress enough that to me, it’s a lot more about the body of work from the program and everyone involved.”
Knipe leaves the program after establishing it as one of the premier powerhouses in the sport. The Beach have been in the last four consecutive NCAA Final Fours, and have won three of the last seven national titles.
As first reported by the 562.org, it is expected that associate head coach Nick MacRae, who has coached with Knipe for 13 years and was once a player under Knipe, will take over the program.
While he will no longer command his team from the sidelines, Knipe cares deeply about the program’s future and intends to continue to root for The Beach at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.
“It will be the day that I no longer coach this team, but I hope that I hope the next coach wins, you know, five or six or seven national championships and I’ll be the guy down there at the sandbar clapping,” Knipe said in the book, Long Beach State at 75 by Barbara Kingsley-Wilson.
This is a developing story.
A senior at CSULB, Timothy Hessen serves as the Sports Editor of the Long Beach Current. First joining the Current as a copy assistant editor as a junior, Timothy has written about sports in several different publications, including the Long Beach Current, the Coast Report and the Laguna Beach Independent. After graduation, Timothy hopes to pursue a career in journalism or public relations, with the long-term goal of either covering or working for an NFL or NBA team.