The University of Arkansas added one of the nation's top recruiters to its athletic staff when Robert Pulliza was introduced as the head coach of the Razorback volleyball team on July 11, 2008. Pulliza took over as the second head coach at Arkansas to lead the Hogs into the program's next era. He is one of just a handful of coaches in the country to play and coach in the Final Four.

As a player, Pulliza was a two-year captain for the Ball State men's volleyball team and helped lead the Cardinals to the NCAA Final Four in 1994 and 1995. Then as an assistant coach at Wisconsin, Pulliza helped guide the Badgers to the Final Four during the 2000 season.

On the talents of the youngest roster since the program's inaugural season, the Razorback volleyball team took tremendous strides during Pulliza's second year as head coach. Picked to finish 10th in the Southeastern Conference in the preseason coaches' poll, the Razorbacks exceeded all expectations to post the sixth-best record in the league in 2009.

As impressive as the team's development, the emergence of Jasmine Norton as Arkansas' go-to player on the outside was instrumental to the team's success. Norton was a member of Pulliza's first recruiting class at Arkansas, which was ranked in the nation's top 45 by PrepVolleyball.com.

During her first season in Cardinal and White, Norton became the sixth All-American in Razorback program history when she was selected as an Honorable Mention performer by the AVCA. In addition to her national recognition, Norton was named the SEC and South Region Freshman of the Year, earned a spot on the All-SEC Second Team and garnered All-South Region Honorable Mention accolades. During the season, the Rowlett, Texas, native set an SEC record by earning six league Freshman of the Week awards, all of which came during conference play.

That initial group of recruits also included Amanda Anderson, the very first commitment for Pulliza as Arkansas' head coach. Anderson and Norton were both named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, the seventh and eighth all-freshman selections in program history. During the season, Anderson earned all-tournament honors at the TCU Invitational and Arkansas Invitational, the latter resulting in the 6-2 middle blocker being named the SEC Freshman of the Week.

Pulliza's first season with the Razorback Nation included a pair of SEC sweeps and his first foray into the SEC Coaches' Beach Volleyball Championship. He also helped then-freshman Kelli Stipanovich earn a spot on the USA Junior National A2 Team that traveled to Europe during the summer of 2009.

Pulliza came to Fayetteville after stops in some of the nation's best programs, including, most recently, the University of Kentucky where he served as the associate head coach.

He was instrumental in re-energizing the Kentucky program upon his arrival in 2004. His recruiting prowess with the Wildcats was evident as his 2007 class was ranked No. 8 in the country. He followed with the 17th-ranked recruiting class in 2008. Pulliza's class in 2006 was ranked 26th by PrepVolleyball.com.

One of the standouts from Pulliza's initial recruiting class at Kentucky, setter Sarah Rumely, went on to be voted the 2008 SEC Player of the Year and two-time All-American. During her first season, Rumely was a twice named the SEC Freshman of the Week en route to being named the SEC Freshman of the Year.

One member of the 2007 Kentucky team, Queen Nzenwa, became the program's first All-America selection since 1993 after finishing the year ranked eighth in the nation in blocks per game.

Pulliza's 2007 freshman class again led the SEC in first-year player success as the Wildcats brought home four SEC Freshman of the Week honors and a league-leading seven honors.

Kentucky made three NCAA tournament appearances in Pulliza's three seasons for the first time in school history.  In addition, Pulliza helped guide the Wildcats to a 20-win season for the first time since 1993.  Kentucky had three consecutive 17-plus win seasons including back-to-back 19-win years and Pulliza coached nine All-SEC members and 10 All-SEC Academic honorees.

Pulliza's college coaching career began in 1996 as an assistant coach at James Madison University.  He moved on to Northern Illinois for the 1998-99 season helping the Huskies to the Mid-American Conference regular season title and second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1998.

Pulliza's next stop was in Madison, Wis., where he served as the recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator for the Badgers from 1999-2001.  He is credited with recruiting Volleyball Magazine's sixth-best class in the country in 2001.  In addition, Pulliza found himself on the sidelines as the Badgers won the Big Ten title and were in the NCAA Final Four Championship match in 2000.

The next stop for Pulliza was the University of Texas in 2001-04.  While serving as an assistant for the Longhorns, Pulliza signed Student Sports Magazine's second-ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2003 and landed PrepVolleyball.com's 13th-ranked class in 2004.

In addition to his success at the collegiate level, Pulliza has also gained international experience with the Puerto Rico and USA National Team programs. In 2000 and 2001, he was an assistant with the USA Youth National Team, with the 2000 team earning a silver medal at the NORCCA Zonal Championship. Pulliza went on to serve as an assistant coach with the USA National A2 team in the summer of 2003.

Most recently, Pulliza was part of the coaching staff that took the Puerto Rico Junior National Team to Lima, Peru, in February 2010 to compete in the Summer Cup. The team played Chile, the Dominican Republic and Peru, picking up a win against the Chilean team. In the spring of 2010, with Pulliza on the bench, the Puerto Rico Youth National Team won the bronze medal at the NORCECA Girls' Youth Continental Championship. The top-three finish insured a trip to the 2011 FIVB Youth World Championship in Turkey. As well as his assistant coach duties, Pulliza also serves as a consultant for Puerto Rico.

Along with his wife, he established the Robert and Jamie Pulliza Opportunity Scholarship in 2009. The scholarship was established for a non-athlete attending the University of Arkansas based on academic achievement, leadership and community engagement. Hayden Herrera was the first recipient of the scholarship.

A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Pulliza is a 1996 graduate of Ball State with a degree in general studies and sports administration. Pulliza received his master's degree in athletics administration and coaching in 1998 from James Madison University.  His wife, Jamie, is a speech pathologist.