Todd Lowery simply watched volleyball for a year and believes he will be a better coach for it. That is scary news for the rest of the schools in the NAIA.

Lowery, who was the head volleyball coach at National American University for six seasons, winning national championships in 2002 and 2006, was named head coach at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Southernmost College on Wednesday. The 33-year-old had a record of 211-22 during his six-year stint at NAU and recorded

41-0 marks during each of his national title seasons.

The return to the coaching ranks comes a year after NAU eliminated its sports programs at the Rapid City college, including the successful volleyball program that Lowery build into a national power in short order.

"This was a good fit for me and my coaching style," Lowery said. "I came down here in December and it is a school that is experiencing a lot of growth, and it gets a lot of support. It is a program that I hope to build into something like NAU."

Lowery said he applied to several schools over the past year at the Division I and II level as well as NAIA, but in the end he said the comfort level at Brownsville was the biggest factor.

"This is one of the biggest NAIA schools, with 12,000 students, that may be moving up to Division II in four or five years," he said. "It is kind of funny because I am going from one of the smallest NAIA schools to one of the biggest."

Lowery, who grew up in Gillette, Wyo., said he was a basketball player growing up but came to enjoy volleyball when he was at school at Black Hills State, where the coaching staff took him under its wing and he really began learning the game.

Lowery said it was tough to leave NAU in 2007 but he said he had no hard feelings toward the school and believes he was always supported by the administration.

However, he said he needed time after the program was cut to decide what his next move would be.

"I tried to help my players find places to go and during the summer I realized I wasn't ready to make a decision because I didn't want to take the wrong job and be there for a year," he said. "I wanted a place where I would have stability."

Lowery spent his time off watching volleyball at all levels and really got the itch to get back into coaching when he attended the NAIA national tournament this fall.

"I really missed it a lot but I learned a lot just by watching," he said. "We want to be successful and there are a lot of different styles to do that, but the goal is just to get better."

One of Lowery's biggest keys to success has been his ability to recruit, and while he may be moving to a new school his philosophies will not change.

"I have been fortunate to recruit good people who are not only amazing athletes but they are successful in the classroom as well," he said.

Lowery built a lot of his success by being able to recruit Brazilian players while in Rapid City and he has another large international pool to draw from in Texas.

"There is definitely an international feel in the athletics here and we get a lot more interest from junior college kids," Lowery said. "The weather is pretty nice here so that helps."

Lowery's ability to recruit was not lost on the Scorpions director of athletics Vernon Mummert.

"Todd's ability to recruit outstanding student-athletes and put together amazing teams is well documented by his two national championships," he said.

Lowery said he is inheriting a program that had a strong season in 2007 when the Scorpions advanced to the NAIA national tournament, but slipped to 10-23 this past season. However, the coach is bringing with him a player he had recruited to NAU and believes can be a big contributor in the near future as he looks to build with junior college players early on with a large number of scholarships available.

"Arlene Ferreira came to NAU in the spring quarter just before the program got cut," he said. "She was priority No. 1 for us at that time and we believe she can be one of the best kids in the NAIA. She came down here and fell in love with the campus like I did."

Lowery will begin his coaching career with the Scorpions when the first game of the 2009 season begins Aug. 22.