When Northern Kentucky State College, under the leadership of of President Dr. Frank Steely and Dean of Students Dr. Jim Claypool, began the women’s basketball program during the 1974-75 academic year, it became the first public college in Kentucky to offer athletic scholarships for women. 

One year later, its volleyball program was created.

Karen Finan, who graduated with a degree in communication in 1982 and is now the president and CEO of the OneNKY Alliance, was one of NKU’s first volleyball scholarship recipients in 1978.

“Women's sports were becoming very competitive at the time and being able to consider an offer from NKU really helped me understand where I wanted to be,” Finan says. “The exposure NKU brought during that time period as a fast-growing program that was focused on women's athletics was a very positive influence on me as I moved forward. It made me appreciate what we have in this region and how well we could compete across the country. At the time, I probably didn't fully realize the depths of that, but as I look back there was quite a bit of determination to make sure that we had a strong four-year regional university in our backyard, that we would have a strong academic offering and that we would have a strong athletic program.”

The volleyball team found success quickly. In 1975, they won the Kentucky Women’s Intercollegiate Conference (KWIC) Small College Tournament. In 1977, they won the KWIC Large College Tournament, advancing and winning the AIAW Southern Regional. They finished the AIAW Large College National Finals with school-record victories, 41-5. The volleyball team won the KWIC 1978 and 1979 Large College Champions. In 1981, the first year of NCAA Division II, the team qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament. In 1985, NKU’s first year in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), the program won the championship.

Finan credits the administration for the volleyball program’s progress.

“I think it was a tribute to the coaches and the administrators who could recruit students during what was becoming a more competitive time for student-athletes who now had choices, where before many women really didn't have any choices at all,” she says. “It has taken a community to grow this athletic program, and it will continue to take a community. I want to make sure the unsung heroes are recognized. There's many in a program like this, whether it be women’s volleyball or women's basketball or women's tennis—especially for the early pioneers, the people who believed in a program who had the courage to really demand that there be something like this. And then those coaches, those athletic directors, those administrators who really used their social capital to stand this up. And for those who took the baton after that and continued, because there can be a lot of fatigue with something like this, as you might imagine, especially when it's new.”

One of those leaders was Jane Meier, who was hired to coach the volleyball and slow-pitch softball team in 1978 and in 1981 was named head coach of both the volleyball and women’s basketball teams. From 1983 through 1988, she coached the volleyball and fast-pitch softball programs. 

In 1988, she became athletic director at NKU, making her one of the first female athletic directors overseeing a men’s and women’s athletics programs in the country. She held that position for 21 years before retiring in 2009. Two years later, she was named to the David Lee Holt NKU Hall of Fame.

Looking back on her time at NKU, Meier feels an endless amount of pride.

“I think the level of athletes that we had, especially in the 70s and then the early 80s, was really incredible. It was gratifying to see that we had a competitive program and people didn't like to play us. I look at the overall success of the program, not only the wins and losses, but just look at the resumes of the student-athletes after they graduated and what they did professionally and personally. Karen Finan is one of many who have excelled upon graduating from NKU. I take a lot of pride in that,” she says. “From 1981 to 1997, it was not easy, but we had the commitment of the whole athletic program due to a 1981 budget cut and minimal scholarship support. We were focused on the success of the student-athletes. We did whatever needed to be done. I say we because it took we to get that to happen, and I firmly believe that. If there was not the commitment across the board by the whole athletics staff, the program would not be where it is today.”

The volleyball team won multiple regular season and tournament titles in the GLVC and advanced to many regional and national tournaments before moving to the Atlantic Sun Conference and eventually to the Horizon League as NKU Athletics transitioned to Division I.

Meier believes the success of the volleyball program during those five decades of transition—and sometimes uncertainty—was dependent on its head coaches: Marilyn Moore, Jane Meier, Velma Lehman, Mary Biermann, Carlos Chia and current coach Liz Hart.

“Having the right person coaching is a very important responsibility, and that's where success lies. It has to be done right. To my knowledge, to this day, it has been done right,” she says. “Liz is a professional. She cares about the success of the program. I believe the program has done very well under her leadership and continues to do well. I have the highest opinion of NKU, and they need to hold on to her forever. I repeat this all the time, a quote by Former Texas Governor, Ann Richards that 'leadership is like an abominable snowman. You can't see it, but you know it's there by the footprints.' So I told Liz, ‘Leave your footprints.’”

And she has certainly left her footprints during the last 16 years.

Hart coached club volleyball here for three years while she was a student at Cincinnati Mercy High School before she ever enrolled. After she earned her bachelor’s degree from NKU and an NCAA post-grad scholarship, she realized that she enjoyed coaching and wanted to make a career out of it. She was the assistant volleyball coach for two years and was finishing up the first year of her master’s degree when she became head coach.

Hart uses a competitive cauldron to increase competition level amongst the team and to get her student-athletes at their highest level every practice. However, she also believes those practices and games are a great way to learn life lessons.

“Through sports, you learn teamwork. You learn resilience. You learn work ethic, self-determination, discipline. There are so many things that you can learn through the challenges and highs and lows of sports that apply to everyday life,” she says. “We talk a lot about being where your feet are. I want you to be the best version of yourself in the classroom, in the weight room, here on the court and also off the court, too. I don't need you to think about volleyball 24/7. Go have friends, go have a family, go be a normal college student. I think all of that is really important. We kind of develop a culture of a growth mindset and trying to be the best version of ourselves.”

The volleyball program had a memorable 2025-26 season, but one big memory stands outs for Hart during the last 16 years: winning the Horizon League conference tournament in 2019.

However, seeing growth among student-athletes every single year is even better.

“More than anything, it's the consistency over the years. It's being able to have success with so many different types of players who come from different backgrounds and have different experiences and watching it all come together. Seeing them achieve—whether it's getting the grade that they want in the classroom or getting better at volleyball or learning how to have better relationships with their teammates—and seeing the growth of the players over time. And that's obviously what keeps you motivated because you don't win as many games as you always want to win. You're not winning championships every year. It’s seeing them grow and improve and seeing the results of their hard work.”

As Hart looks ahead to the future of volleyball at NKU, she wants to keep growing and building on that momentum.

“I care so much about the program, and I want the program to continue to do well. How do you continue to push the envelope? How do you continue to make the student-athlete’s experience the best experience that you can give in those moments? It's continuing to recruit amazing student-athletes who represent not only our volleyball program but our athletic department at the highest level,” she says. “I think it's continuing to raise the bar as much as we can and providing outstanding experiences for student-athletes to be proud of and excited about. Then they come back, and they brag on what they were able to do and achieve. That's really the biggest thing—a positive student-athlete experience.”