BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Tony Trifonov has been named Long Island University's Head Women's Volleyball Coach, Director of Athletics Elliott Charles announced on Thursday. Trifonov, the 2024 NEC Coach of the Year and 35-year coaching veteran, joins LIU after five seasons as the head coach at Chicago State University (2020-2024).
In 26 years as a head coach in Division I, Trifonov boasts a 384-273 overall record (.584 win pct.). This past season, he led Chicago State to the NEC regular season and tournament titles, while sporting a 13-1 conference mark, becoming the first team in school history to reach the NCAA tournament.
In his five-year tenure leading the Cougars, Trifonov won two coach of the year crowns (2024, NEC & 2021, WAC), set a single-season program record for wins (17, 2021), coached two conference players of the year (Patrycja Lagida, 2024, NEC & Yanlis Feliz, 2021, WAC), coached two All-Americans (Lagida & Feliz), and coached one conference setter of the year (Wiktoria Zagumny, 2024), all while his teams maintained at least a 3.0 GPA in every semester.
Trifonov is the only head coach in Chicago State women's volleyball's 30-year history to record a winning season, a feat he accomplished three times in five years.
Trifonov joined Chicago State from Seward County Community College in Kansas, where in two seasons (2018-2019) his teams posted a 63-10 overall record, a 32-0 conference record, and two finishes in the top 10 of the national rankings. In 2019, Trifonov's team claimed National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI national runner-up honors.
Trifonov built his reputation during his 21-year tenure as the head coach at Florida A&M University (1997-2018), where he posted a record of 326-219 (.598). Over more than two decades in Tallahassee, Trifonov claimed 10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament titles, 10 NCAA tournament appearances, and 19 MEAC regular season titles. He coached seven conference players of the year, four conference rookies of the year, two All-Americans, and two Olympians.
At Florida A&M, Trifonov was named MEAC Coach of the Year six times. He was inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame in 2012.
Trifonov first became a head coach in 1997 at Gaither High School in Tampa, Florida. He began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at the University of South Florida in 1990.
Prior to coaching, Trifonov played professionally for 11 seasons and was a member of the Bulgarian national team that placed sixth in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education at the National Sports Academy "Vassil Levski," Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1990.
"My family and I are super excited and humbled to be joining the LIU family," said Trifonov. "I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead the Sharks to new heights. I would like to thank President Kimberly Cline and Athletic Director Elliott Charles for trusting me to be the next head coach. I cannot wait to get to campus, meet our student-athletes, and get to work."
