Widely known as the “King of the Beach,” volleyball legend Karch Kiraly has signed on to provide the keynote address at the Southeastern Conference Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships banquet on Friday, April 11. The event, which will officially kick off the first beach volleyball tournament ever held by a Division I women’s volleyball conference, is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at the Best Western Gateway Grande.

Currently a color commentator on ESPN and NBC’s volleyball broadcasts, Kiraly will participate in an autograph session at the Best Western from 6-6:30 ET on the night of the banquet. The autograph session will be free and open to the public.

Kiraly retired from the AVP Tour in 2007 as the winningest player in beach volleyball history in terms of both tournaments and prize money, having won more than 150 events and claimed more than $3 million in earnings. A 2001 inductee into the Volleyball Hall of Fame, he is the only player to ever win Olympic gold medals both indoors and on the sand. In addition to indoor gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and the 1988 Seoul Games, Kiraly captured the first-ever beach volleyball gold at the Atlanta Games in 1996. After a brief stint with Italian club Il Messaggero following the 1998 Olympics, Kiraly made a full-time return to the beach, where he won at least one event on 24 of his 27 seasons on the AVP Tour.

Widely considered the gold standard of beach volleyball players, Kiraly was named “World’s Best Volleyball Player” by FIVB president Ruben Acosta in 1986, and was dubbed the greatest men’s volleyball player in the sport’s first century at his 2001 Hall of Fame induction.

Kiraly starred on the indoor court at UCLA from 1979-82, leading the Bruins to three NCAA titles and one runner-up finish. During his time in Westwood, UCLA posted a record of 124-5. He currently resides in San Clemente, Calif., with his wife, Janna, and their two sons, Kristian and Kory.

The SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships will be the first beach tournament ever held by a Division I conference. There are seven beach tournaments involving NCAA institutions scheduled for the spring of 2008, with only the Division II Sunshine State Conference tournament to precede the action on the UF campus.

Competition will begin on Saturday morning with pool play, during which each team will play a minimum of four matches. The top two teams in each pool will play in the pool championship phase of the tournament for a spot in the medal round. The bronze medal match is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, and the gold medal match is slated to commence at 6 p.m. ET.

A limited number of tickets for the banquet will be made available to the public. Individual tickets can be purchased for $40 apiece, and a $2 handling fee will be applied to all orders.

Complete tournament information, including a ticket order form, can be found at www.secbeachvolleyball.com.

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