Ben Boldt sees potential for volleyball greatness.

After serving two seasons as an assistant volleyball coach at Alabama, Boldt now returns to his Midwestern roots. During his time with the Crimson Tide, he coached an All-American, helped the squad make its third NCAA appearance, and helped bring in a top-30 recruiting class to Tuscaloosa, Ala.

With those accomplishments behind him, the Nebraska native hopes to bring similar success to the Iowa program.

“I think in the long-term, this place is a sleeping giant,” he said. “There’s a great bed of just young talent in Iowa. Volleyball in Iowa is huge compared with a lot of other regions in the United States. … I think a school right smack dab in the middle of that talent pool is probably something that really attracted me to the job.”

While his love for volleyball allowed him the opportunity to travel and explore other parts of the country, it was perhaps his other love that brought him back.

During his second season with Alabama, Boldt’s future wife, Angie Boldt, accepted a position at Iowa to become the director of volleyball operations. Sharing a similar passion for the sport, it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

However, with a wedding looming ahead and approximately 800 miles separating the two, choices needed to be made.

“It was a tough decision because we had to figure out, were we even going to do that — the long-distance thing,” Angie Boldt said. “And after a semester of being apart, would I even like Iowa, and would he still want to be down at Alabama?”

Eventually a resolution was reached as Ben Boldt decided to move to Iowa City after the end of the Alabama volleyball season. He decided to apply for the vacant assistant coaching job with the Hawkeyes.

Boldt’s résumé included working five seasons with the Nebraska volleyball program as a staff assistant while completing his degree. The Cornhuskers won five Big 12 titles and won a NCAA championship in his time with the program.

He also had experience serving as a coach for the USA Youth Volleyball National team. Head coach Sharon Dingman was immediately impressed with Boldt.

“I just so appreciate his background,” Dingman said. “He’s got an amazing pedigree for a volleyball coach having grown up with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, one of the best volleyball programs ever in the country, and having two years of good experience at Alabama. So, it really made good sense. Ben was going to fill that role for us.

“He’s so energetic and enthusiastic every day in the gym. And I think mostly, he’s just a really good, positive role model for our players.”

Beginning his first season with Iowa, Ben Boldt has high expectations for the program. After making such a big decision and being reunited with his wife, he knows it was the right one.

“This is the place we want to be,” Ben Boldt said. “We really feel strongly in the program as a whole. I really like this team. I really like the culture that’s been created here. We just want to be able to build on that and really be able to say that we were part of something that was great. Look what we created, and we’re a part of it.”