January 13, 2011: Belhaven Athletic Department is please to announce that a new Head Volleyball and a new Head Softball Coach has been hired. Ashley Stathas, Head Volleyball Coach, comes to Belhaven after spending three seasons as the Assistant Volleyball Coach at the University of South Carolina Upstate, an NCAA Division I member in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Head Softball Coach, Kevin Griffin, comes to Belhaven after spending the last three seasons as the Head Softball Coach at Clinton High School, a 6A school located in Clinton, Mississippi.
"Following an extensive national search, I am very please to announce that Ashley Stathas has accepted the position of Head Volleyball Coach and Kevin Griffin has accepted the Head Softball Coach position at Belhaven University," says Scott Little, Vice President for Student Affairs and Athletics. "Our commitment to student-athletes centers around creating an environment where they can compete for championships and mature as men and women, and I’m confident that Ashley and Kevin will successfully lead their programs in that promise."
During her four years at USCU, Stathas served as the Spartans assistant coach, recruiting coordinator, travel coordinator and was an advisor for the USCU Athletics Benefit Auction. A four-year letter winner as a student-athlete at Lander University, Stathas has also been an active coach at the club level with Club South Volleyball for the past nine years. A native of Fort Myers, Florida, Stathas is a graduate of Lander University with Bachelor of Science degrees in physical education and exercise science.
During his tenure at Clinton, each of Griffin teams finished with top 5 state rankings and earned state tournament berths, while eleven of his Clinton student-athletes signed scholarships to play softball collegiately. With additional coaching stops at Ridgeland High School, Central Hinds Academy and Porters Chapel Academy, he has also been an active coach on the summer softball circuit. Griffin is a graduate of Bellevue University (NE) with Bachelor of Arts degree in Leadership Administration.
Belhaven stands among the select Christian colleges and universities that offer a unique general core curriculum encouraging the development of a personal worldview. The university believes a Christian worldview is a key to preparing men and women academically and spiritually to serve Christ Jesus in their careers, in human relationships, and in the world of ideas.
Founded in 1883, Belhaven University now serves over 3,000 students from campuses in Jackson, Memphis, Orlando, Houston, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and online, offering traditional undergraduate degrees, graduate and adult degree programs, and online programs.