On Dec. 3, 2025 the University of New Mexico and volleyball Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar mutually decided to go their separate ways. It didn’t take the Lobos long to find his replacement, as on Dec. 21, 2025, UNM announced Brian Hosfeld as their new volleyball head coach. With the hiring, Hosfeld is now the 11th coach in the program’s history.
Newman-Gonchar spent the past six years as the Lobos volleyball head coach, and was able to amass a 97-94 record at the helm. This past season, the Lobos went 13-16, with thirteen of those 16 losses coming within the Mountain West conference.
Hosfeld started his coaching career in 1993 with California State University, Long Beach, winning a national championship in his first season. After three seasons with Long Beach, he took over as the volleyball head coach at Baylor University. Hosfeld spent eight years at Baylor, and is their winningest head coach in program history with 129 victories. He also led Baylor to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance in the process.
Hosfeld then left Baylor for the University of Texas, where he served as an assistant coach for the Longhorns, helping them become three-time Big 12 champions. Hosfeld’s most recent stint was as an assistant head coach at Wichita State University, where he won an AAC tournament title and a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2024.
Experience at the college level is not the only thing Hosfeld is bringing to New Mexico, as he coached at the international competitive court with the Volleyball A2 junior national team in 2005 and USA Volleyball in 1997.
“The opportunity to build alongside our student-athletes developing them on and off the court is what excites me most. UNM is a special place with good history, and I can’t wait to begin this journey with the Lobo family,” Hosfeld said in a press release on Dec. 21.
Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
