NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship

NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship
Sport College indoor volleyball
Founded 2012
No. of teams 9
Country  United States
Most recent champion(s) Springfield (3)
Official website NCAA.com

The NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship is the newest championship to be officially sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the main governing body for U.S. college sports. Open only to schools in Division III of the NCAA, a group of schools that are not allowed to award athletic scholarships, the championship was established in 2012.

History

The idea of a Division III championship was first floated by several figures in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association in the late 1980s, but was long dormant because of NCAA participation rules—50 schools must sponsor a sport before a national championship tournament can be officially sanctioned. The main impetus for growth in Division III volleyball had been an unofficial D-III championship tournament known as the Molten Invitational, started in 1997. In 2010, the required number of programs was reached, leading to the creation of the D-III championship.[1]

Format

The Division III championship has involved nine teams since its creation in 2012. This differs from the top-level NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship, which involved four teams through the 2013 tournament and expanded to six teams for 2014. Like the National Collegiate Championship, the Division III championship is a knockout tournament, with best-of-5-set matches. The two lowest-seeded teams play a first-round match, with the winner joining the remaining seven teams at the final championship site.[2]

Champions

Year National Champion Score Runner-up City and venue Host school
2012[3] Springfield (33–5) 3–0 Carthage (29–6) Springfield, MA Blake Arena Springfield
2013[4] Springfield (32–3)[5] 3–0[6] Nazareth (36–2)[5] Pittsford, NY[7] Kidera Gymnasium Nazareth
2014 Springfield (27–8)[8] 3–0[8] Juniata (29–5)[9] Huntingdon, PA Kennedy Sports Center[9] Juniata
2015 Stevens Institute of Technology 3-0 Springfield Hoboken, NJ Canavan Arena Stevens Institute
2016 TBD TBD Pittsford, NY Kidera Gymnasium Nazareth

References

  1. ↑ Knox, Stephen (April 30, 2012). "Advocates of championship succeed". NCAA. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  2. ↑ "2012 NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship Statistics". NCAA. April 29, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Springfield College Wins the Inaugural NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship" (Press release). Springfield College Athletics. April 29, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ "MIT replaces Stevens to host Div. III Men’s Volleyball Championship" (Press release). NCAA. November 29, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Johnson, James (April 28, 2013). "Nazareth falls short in NCAA Division III men's volleyball championship". Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY). Retrieved April 29, 2013. (soft paywall)
  6. ↑ Baker, Dick (April 28, 2013). "Springfield College men's volleyball repeats as NCAA Division III national champion". The Republican (Springfield, MA). Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  7. ↑ The championship was originally scheduled for the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was moved in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. "Nazareth agrees to be new host for national championship in place of MIT" (Press release). NCAA. April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Springfield College men clinch third straight volleyball national championship". The Republican (Springfield, MA). April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Eagles Fall to No. 1 Springfield in National Championship" (Press release). Juniata College Sports. April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.