The University of Alabama System (UAS) Board of Trustees approved the naming of the Spragins Hall women’s volleyball coach’s office, at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) at the board’s meeting today in Tuscaloosa. The office will be named in honor of Leila L. Nabors, founding head coach of UAH volleyball, 1986-1988. UAH is a part of UAS.
Dr. Pamela Hudson, a member of the UAH Foundation Board of Trustees, made a $15,000 gift to support the volleyball program and to honor the contributions of Nabors to the program and UAH Athletics.
“ ‘Coach Nabors’ is what Leila’s players call her, and many of them still keep in touch after all these years,” Hudson said. “She was and still is an unfailing advocate for women’s athletics and demanded both unselfish team play and individual commitment to excellence from her athletes. In return, Coach Nabors gave her all to her athletes and to the teams she coached.”
Hudson noted that Nabors launched the UAH Division 2 volleyball program after she spent more than a decade successfully coaching at the high school level at Randolph School. Her time at Randolph included two state championships.
When Nabors moved to UAH, Hudson added, “Coach did the unimaginable by responding to the athletic director’s urgent recruitment call to also coach UAH women’s basketball. She coached both sports, which included the recruiting, for two seasons. It literally took two people to replace her when she left college coaching to pursue a career in professional counseling.
“While Coach Nabors’ legacy is really written in the hearts of her athletes, it seems fitting to put her name on the wall as well and to honor her service to women’s athletics by this contribution to UAH Athletics.”
Nabors recalled the start of UAH’s first women’s volleyball season in fall 1986.
“The initial season opened at a tournament at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. It was an eight-team tournament. We lost all our matches but played well. I have a great deal of respect for the athletes who played volleyball in those first few years. They truly played for the love of the game. We had one scholarship that offered a few players financial assistance, but in those first few years most of the team were walk-ons.”
Starting a collegiate program is tough, Nabors said.
“As most folks know, you lose more than you win, but the women who started the UAH volleyball program brought it every day. They did so because they loved the game and had pride in the university. I will always be grateful to them. I feel honored to have had the privilege of starting the volleyball program at UAH.”
Those charged with nurturing the program in 2024 said they appreciate the continuing support of Hudson and Nabors.
“I am thrilled that the head volleyball coach’s office will be named in honor of Leila Nabors, our first head coach,” said UAH Director of Athletics Dr. Cade Smith. “Leila has been a friend of the program for many years. As with all of our programs, we would not be where we are today without those who laid the foundation. The fact that her name and legacy will continue to be connected to our volleyball program is very appropriate, and I am thankful for her and her family for making this happen!”
Jon Moseley, UAH’s current head volleyball coach, echoed Smith’s sentiment.
“I am honored to be the seventh head volleyball coach at UAH,” Moseley said, “and I am tremendously grateful for the continued support of our very first head coach, Leila Nabors. Leila and her family are longtime contributors to the university, Charger Athletics and the city of Huntsville. Naming the office for her will be a permanent, tangible reminder of Leila’s integral role in the history of the UAH volleyball program and of the way she has remained an advocate of the program through the years.”
The UAH Chargers volleyball team will face two Gulf South Conference opponents in Spragins Hall this weekend: Union University at 6 p.m. today and Christian Brothers University at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Visit uahchargers.com for more details.
