Back to News 
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (April 8, 2002) – Milligan College announced today that Dobyns-Bennett head coach Kim Deaton Hyatt will take over as women’s volleyball coach for the Lady Buffs.
Hyatt brings a wealth of experience to Milligan from both the high school and club volleyball levels, according to Mark Fox, vice president for student development at Milligan, who said Hyatt will officially begin in August but is already recruiting for the fall season.
“She is a very aggressive recruiter who has a love for Milligan. She has a good team upon which to build,” said Fox.
Hyatt, a 1980 Milligan graduate, will inherit a team of 12 returning players who finished runner-up in the Appalachian Athletic Conference in 2001, participated in the regional championships, and are excited about the upcoming fall season.
Along with her coaching duties, Hyatt will also be part of the Human Performance and Exercise Science (HPXS) faculty. She holds a master’s degree in education and will teach courses in recreational leadership and outdoor education, coaching and officiating volleyball, coaching track and field, and teaching secondary school physical education.
“Kim has taught wellness and physical education in the public schools for over 20 years and we’re excited to have that teaching experience offered to our students,” said Dr. Linda Doan, who heads Milligan’s HPXS program.
Hyatt has been head volleyball coach and wellness instructor at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport since 1996. Her leadership helped grow the program into three teams at the freshman, junior varsity and varsity levels.
Her volleyball coaching and playing experience is extensive. Hyatt served as head coach of the Tennessee Athletic Coaching Association’s All East Volleyball Team, refereed for the Girls and Women’s Sports Association and the United States Volleyball Regional. She has also served as a volleyball official for Division I and NAIA colleges.
As a player at Milligan in the late 1970s, Hyatt was a four year letterman in volleyball, was captain her junior and senior years, and was named team MVP her senior year. She received the Tennessee College Women’s Sports Federation All State Volleyball Award and was a gold medallist in Tennessee’s State Triples Funfest.
Hyatt also has extensive community involvement, including organizing youth volleyball camps, the Kingsport Youth Volleyball League, and planning Eastman volleyball tournaments with the Eastman Parks and Recreation Department.
Prior to her tenure at Dobyns-Bennett, Hyatt was the head girls’ track, cross country, and basketball coach at Happy Valley High School in Elizabethton. She is a member of the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association, past chairman of secondary section of the Tennessee Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and was nominated to Who’s Who of American Teachers.
Milligan College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Northeast Tennessee, offering more than 25 academic programs integrated with a Christian worldview. The college is consistently named one of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report. Milligan’s vision is to change lives and shape culture through a commitment to Christian leadership. For more information, visit www.milligan.edu or call 423.461.8719.