MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Southern New Hampshire University Department of Athletics announced Thursday that Edgard "Dega" da Gama has been hired as the 12th women's volleyball head coach in program history. da Gama, who goes by "Dega," will begin his duties with the Penmen on Jan. 30.
"Following a nationwide search, SNHU is extremely excited to be bringing in a coach of Dega da Gama's quality," said Associate Athletic Director and search committee chair Tricia Cote. "In a pool filled with outstanding and talented candidates, Dega's energy and passion for both volleyball and the coaching profession quickly made him stand out. His extensive Division I background will prove to be an asset to Southern New Hampshire and he is more than ready to take over his own program. The committee was thorough in its efforts to determine the perfect candidate and I appreciate the job well done by the group."
Added Director of Athletics Anthony Fallacaro, "In a very qualified pool of candidates, we felt Dega emerged amongst them as the right fit for Southern New Hampshire. Obviously, his Division I experience at Auburn University, and for the last several years as the top assistant at Boston College, is something that is attractive to us. BC is an excellent academic and athletic institution and those are the values we want to be in the forefront of how we grow our program and we are convinced Dega can do that. We are also confident in his ability to recruit and begin to grown the women's volleyball program."
da Gama, who brings a plethora of collegiate and international coaching experience to Manchester, joins the Penmen after spending five seasons as the top assistant at Boston College, where he assisted in practice and match planning efforts, recruiting, video and statistical analysis and community service initiatives.
"I would like to thank the Tricia Cote and Anthony Fallacaro, as well as the search committee, for believing in my abilities," da Gama said. "I am incredibly humbled and excited to be the next head volleyball coach at SNHU and to lead this program to the highest levels of the NE10 Conference. I consider it a great privilege to join such a dynamic team of professionals. I also want to thank the Boston College administration and student-athletes for helping me in the last five years. It was a pleasure working with truly great people. I look forward to meeting the team, coaching, growing and competing for championships very soon with this group of hardworking young women."
In his time at Boston College, da Gama assisted in producing an All-ACC Freshman performance from Katty Workman in 2012 and multiple record-breaking seasons from several other players. In 2014, the team posted its highest RPI in school history.
One of da Gama's prouder highlights from his time at The Heights was over his five-year stint, the team maintained a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher and 100 percent of his student-athletes graduated on time.
da Gama arrived at Chestnut Hill following three years as an assistant coach at Auburn University. Over that span, he helped the Tigers improve from a mid-200 RPI to No. 45 in the final 2010 poll and receive their first-ever entry into the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to guiding Auburn to the postseason, da Gama constructed a collegiate coaching background at Washington State University, Eastern Washington University and North Idaho College.
In da Gama's first collegiate position at EWU, the Eagles finished with a 23-9 overall record and took second place in the Big Sky Conference with a 10-4 mark.
da Gama then headed to North Idaho in 2006, where he guided the Cardinals to a conference championship and fourth-place finish at NJCAA Nationals.
Over the past 13 years, da Gama has conducted Brazil Gold Volleyball Camps in the Washington area and served as the technical director and coach of the Skagit Volleyball Club (2004-06).
Prior to entering the collegiate ranks, da Gama was an assistant for the Rexona Volleyball Club – a professional women's team in Brazil – under Bernardo Rezende from 2001-04. Before being appointed an assistant, da Gama simultaneously interned with RVC from 1997-2000 and the world powerhouse Brazilian National Team from 1998-2000.
In addition to his work on the sidelines, da Gama was involved with the University Affiliates Program, AHANA, at Boston College. He is also on the Board of the AVCA Diversity Development Program.
The native of Curitiba, Brazil, earned his bachelor's degree in physical education, with a focus on coaching from Federal University of Parana in 1996. He earned his master's degree at Boston College in 2015.
da Gama and his wife, Cintia Alessi, reside in Newton, Mass., with their daughters, Anna Julia and Beatriz Louise da Gama Silva.
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FOR TRANSACTIONS
Southern New Hampshire – Named Dega da Gama head women's volleyball coach.
