Jen Greeny seeks stability, opportunity in first season coaching WVU volleyball

What brought new West Virginia volleyball coach Jen Greeny across the country from Washington to West Virginia from an established winning program at her alma mater?

Unsurprisingly, a multitude of factors.

Some of it being the uncertainty of conference realignment, with Washington State one of just two members left in a disintegrating Pac-12 and on the verge of being one of the first homeless power conference programs amidst this shake up of college sports.

"We're parents, and I don't know if I would let my daughter go where you don't know what the financial situation is or what conference they are playing in. The instability really did it,” she said.

It makes it harder to recruit, at least, which threatened to hinder Greeny’s program.

“We weren't just going to settle and become a mid-major," Greeny explained. "There were so many things that were up in the air with that. Recruiting was really difficult. When recruits call and ask what conference you are going to be in, you can't answer them truthfully…and we always want to be truthful with recruits.”

Maybe the challenge of rebuilding a program played a role as well. Greeny had established winning programs at lower levels of collegiate ball and in Pullman for Washington State -- sometimes, it's time to switch up the challenge in front of you.

"When certain opportunities present themselves, and you kind of sit on it and weigh the pros and cons, it's a feeling of like, 'Yeah, we better go try this,'" she said.

She was courted during what she called a “fast process” in terms of the transition between programs, and initially turned down the role. But in the end, the athletic department in Morgantown proved as efficient a recruiter as Greeny herself.

“Wren Baker is a pretty great recruiter," Greeny told the Seattle Times. "He's going to be a great person to work for. He has a great team in place, and the support and vision there for us trying to build this program is very exciting."

So far, she has found everyone she has met committed to helping her rebuild the program.

“People have been tremendous, asking how they can help, which is similar to where we came from," she said.