University of New Hampshire Athletics
Women's Volleyball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- chris.feliciano@unh.edu
- Phone:
- 603-862-4664
- Alma Mater:
- New Jersey City University, '03
Career NCAA Coaching Record: 343-223 (.606)/19 Years
ACCOLADES:
2020 NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
2009 AVCA "30 Under 30"
2007 NJAC Coach of the Year
2006 NECVA Metro Division Men’s Coach of the Year
2005 North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division Coach of the Year
Christopher Feliciano, who was named the seventh head coach in program history March 12, 2019, enters his seventh season as UNH head coach in the 2025 season.
In six years at the helm, he has guided the Wildcats to a 95-54 overall record that includes 41-21 (.661 win percentage) in America East as the 'Cats have not finished lower than third in the conference standings under Feliciano. UNH's Lundholm Gym has been a tough place for opponents to play as the Wildcats have a 45-8 (.849) home record the past six years.
In six seasons at UNH, he has coached a total of 17 All-Conference Team honorees -- eight on the First Team and nine on the Second Team -- and eight All-Rookie Team selections. He has also mentored Wren Macaulay, the 2021 America East Setter of the Year, Kelly Kauffman, the 2021 America East Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Kara Oxenknecht, the 2022 America East Rookie of the Year.
Feliciano guided New Hampshire to the 2024 America East tournament title and, with that championship, a berth in the NCAA Championships. The 2024 season got off to a promising start as the Wildcats won the first two sets of the season at LSU before falling in five to the Tigers of the SEC. UNH ended that tourney with a win against Big 10 school Maryland in five sets. In another trip to a SEC school, UNH pushed Texas A & M -- a 2024 NCAA tourney team -- to a fifth set before falling to the Aggies. The Wildcats won 7 of 15 sets against the three Power 4 opponents.
New Hampshire finished second in the 2024 America East standings with a 7-3 record, then recorded 3-1 victories against both UMBC and UAlbany to win the program's first conference crown since 2016. UNH battled Arizona State in the NCAA first round and played three competitive sets against the No. 8 team in the nation (25-17, 25-17, 25-19). The Wildcats ended the season with 18 wins (18-10 record) for the second consecutive year.
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| Feliciano was named the 7th head coach in team history on March 12, 2019 |
On the national leaderboard, UNH ranked No. 15 in blocks per set and 20th in opponent hitting percentage.
In his first season as head coach (2019), Feliciano posted a 17-10 overall record and led UNH to an appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
In the COVID-abbreviated 2020 season (played in the spring 2021 semester), the Wildcats went 7-3.
That was followed by a 16-12 campaign in 2021, 19-10 record in 2022 and 18-9 ledger in 2023.
Feliciano served on the NCAA Volleyball Rules Committee in 2016 and 2017. He was also a AVCA Division 1 Top 25 Voting Committee Member from 2012-2016. In 2013 and 2014, he served as an AVCA Coaching Mentor. Feliciano was also an AVCA Division III Top 25 Voting Committee Member during the 2006 season. He served as a member of UNH Athletics' Committee on Mutual Respect for the 2021-22 school year.
Prior to arriving at UNH, he served as the women's volleyball head coach for eight seasons at Rider. Feliciano was the winningest coach in Rider history with 117 victories. The Broncs won 10-plus conference matches each of his five years at the school, and they tallied at least 15 wins six consecutive seasons.
Feliciano, who received a master's degree in Athletic Leadership in May 2018, directed the Broncs to a record-setting 2018 season in which they placed third in the MAAC with a program-record 12 conference wins. Rider advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time ever and finished with 19 wins, which was the highest total since 1994.
In his second season (2012) at Rider, the Broncs doubled their win total from the previous campaign and recorded the most wins (11) since 2004. In 2013, Feliciano led Rider to its most victories in a decade with the team improving its win total for the third season in a row. In 2014, Feliciano's squad registered the most wins (17) since the 1994 season and the sixth most wins in team history. In 2015, the Broncs qualified for the MAAC Tournament for the first time since 2004.
Prior to his arrival at Rider, Feliciano was an assistant coach at Fordham University for the 2010 season and helped the Rams win 17 matches.
He graduated from New Jersey City University in May 2003 and was immediately hired as the school's women's volleyball head coach. In five seasons as NJCU women's volleyball head coach (2004-08), Feliciano posted an overall record of 131-39 for a .771 winning percentage. He became the first coach to lead a Gothic Knights' women's team to a New Jersey Athletic Conference championship when NJCU won the 2005 title. Feliciano guided NJCU to the conference finals three consecutive years (2005-07) and an appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament – the first by a women's team in school history. Feliciano also served as men's volleyball head coach for four years (2004-07) and compiled an overall record of 72-54 (.571). He was named the 2005 North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division Coach of the Year. He is the second winningest men's coach in the program's annals.
Feliciano, who was honored as NJAC Coach of the Year in 2007, holds the program records for wins, winning percentage and matches coached. He has 53 more wins than any other coach in the 25-year history of the program, and is the only coach to have a career winning percentage above. 600.
He was inducted into the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame in February 2020.
A standout student-athlete for the Gothic Knights, Feliciano was a four-year outside hitter from 1999-2003 (which included a redshirt year in '01). He captained the team as a junior and senior, and finished his career with 1,082 kills.
Feliciano resides in Durham, N.H. with his wife Emily, daughter Ava and son Xavier.
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| Coach Feliciano with wife Emily and two children, Ava and Xavier |
| CHRISTOPHER FELICIANO YEAR-BY-YEAR (2004-PRESENT) | ||||
| Year | Position | School | Record | Conference Record |
| 2004 | Head Coach | New Jersey City University | 30-6 | Independent |
| 2005 | Head Coach | New Jersey City University | 26-8 | 7-0 (1st place) |
| 2006 | Head Coach | New Jersey City University | 33-8 | 7-1 (2nd place) |
| 2007 | Head Coach | New Jersey City University | 28-6 | 8-0 (1st place) |
| 2008 | Head Coach | New Jersey City University | 14-11 | 5-3 (5th place) |
| 2010 | Assistant Coach | Fordham | 17-18 | 7-9 (T-5th place) |
| 2011 | Head Coach | Rider | 5-25 | 3-15 (9th place) |
| 2012 | Head Coach | Rider | 11-17 | 4-14 (9th place) |
| 2013 | Head Coach | Rider | 15-14 | 6-12 (7th place) |
| 2014 | Head Coach | Rider | 17-17 | 10-8 (5th place) |
| 2015 | Head Coach | Rider | 16-17 | 11-7 (5th place) |
| 2016 | Head Coach | Rider | 17-14 | 11-7 (T-3rd place) |
| 2017 | Head Coach | Rider | 17-15 | 10-8 (5th place) |
| 2018 | Head Coach | Rider | 19-11 | 12-6 (3rd place) |
| 2019 | Head Coach | New Hampshire | 17-10 | 7-3 (2nd place) |
| 2021 Spring | Head Coach | New Hampshire | 7-3 | 7-3 (T-2nd place) |
| 2021 Fall | Head Coach | New Hampshire | 16-12 | 7-5 (T-3rd place) |
| 2022 | Head Coach | New Hampshire | 19-10 | 6-4 (3rd place) |
| 2023 | Head Coach | New Hampshire | 18-9 | 7-3 (2nd place) |
| 2024 | Head Coach | New Hampshire | 18-10 | 7-3 (2nd place) *AE CHAMPS |
| TOTALS | 19 years as NCAA Head Coach | 343-223 (.606) | 6 years at New Hampshire 95-54 (.637) |
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