Gaul to receive top Pitt athletics honor
By John Sacco
Contributing writer
Julie Gaul was a great volleyball player at the University of Pittsburgh and has spent her time since leaving there building an outstanding and auspicious professional career.
Gaul, who was an undergraduate at Pitt from the fall of 1979 to 1983, is one of 10 former student-athletes being honored by the University of Pittsburgh Varsity Letter Club in 2026 as Awardees of Distinction, which continues a tradition of recognizing former student-athletes who have made significant impacts in their professions or communities and have enhanced the legacy of Pitt athletics.
She was nominated for the prestigious award by Gail Potter Evans, a former Panthers player.
“I’m just truly honored,” she said. “After all these years, it does bring back all the memories of playing and just the opportunities that I had. It’s special to not only play the sport that I love but also to receive an education that set the tone for my career. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to work in a field that I love for so many years – more than three decades.”
Gaul, a Washington High School graduate, became a member of the Carlow University coaching staff in 1993. She previously coached and directed Junior Olympic volleyball in the Pittsburgh area for five years and coached the Pennsylvania High School team at the King Kamehameha Volleyball Classic in Honolulu for four years.
“I was in the first class (at Pitt) to graduate with a bachelor of science degree in exercise science in 1983,” Gaul said. “It was the perfect major. Continuing at Pitt, I earned my Master of Science degree in exercise physiology in 1985 while serving as the volleyball graduate assistant.”
Gaul served as the sports chair for volleyball in the River States Conference for five years. Gaul has guided Carlow to the USCAA National Championships each of the past seven years.
Gaul is a 2004 inductee to the Washington-Greene Co. Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
In addition to coaching volleyball, she serves as the Director of Wellness and Fitness Services at Carlow and is a certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine. Gaul is also a certified Holistic Stress Management Instructor and provides wellness and fitness programming to the Carlow community. Gaul completed her Master of Business Administration at Carlow in 2010.
Gaul was a two-time Most Valuable Player, Field Events, at the Washington County Coaches Track Meet while at Wash High. She won the PIAA javelin championship in 1979, her senior year.
She relishes the rise of the Panthers to national status in volleyball and their four consecutive Final Four appearances.
“Oh, it is so special,” Gaul said. “It’s my favorite thing to see how far Pitt volleyball has come and just women’s sports in general from the time when I played. Just to see the fans, the athletes and the coaches. It’s just phenomenal. It’s such a great lifetime sport, too. To see how hard these women work and what they’re accomplishing. It’s just amazing. The level is just so high.”
The 2026 Awardees of Distinction and the Rising Star Award recipients will be honored at the 64th Anniversary Varsity Letter Club Awards Dinner, taking place Feb. 20, 2026. The event will be held at the Petersen Events Center and is set to begin at 6 p.m.
The honorees will be recognized at the Pitt vs. Notre Dame men’s basketball game Feb. 21.
Since 1961, the Pitt Varsity Letter Club has honored those members who have distinguished themselves in their profession or community and who, by their accomplishments, have enhanced the value of the intercollegiate athletic programs at Pitt.
To be eligible, a nominee must have earned a varsity letter from the university 25 or more years ago. The Awardees of Distinction is one of the longest-standing traditions in Pitt athletics and among the highest honors the Pitt and the Varsity Letter Club can bestow upon former student-athletes.