Volleyball is a continually growing sport that the AVCA wants to grow even further at the men’s collegiate level. The AVCA has decided to donate $150,000 to the MotorMVB Foundation, which is a non-profit that was created to drive the growth in men’s and boy’s volleyball, you can read more about the foundation here.
The contribution will be made over the next four years (2017-2020), the money will go to support efforts to identify and encourage colleges and universities to add varsity men’s teams that will provide scholarships in men’s volleyball.
Currently, there are 188 colleges that sponsor a men’s volleyball program in the United States. The growth at the men’s collegiate level grew 2.5% from 8.4% to 10.9% from the 2015-2016 season. According to NFHS.org, the participation rates in boys high school volleyball has risen 12.0% over the past five years (excluding club volleyball from these numbers) – you can read more about these finding here.
The main focus of MotorMVB is to support the growth at the NCAA Division I and II level, while they still support all levels of play.
According to the AVCA President and the head volleyball coach at Iowa State Universiy, Christy Johnson-Lynch, 100% of the board members involved with the decision made individual contributions as a demonstration of their commitment to the effort.
While the MotorMVB Foundation is just beginning, they are committed to a 10-year plan to increase men’s collegiate programs.
Recently, the MotorMVB Foundation made one of their first sizable contributions to these efforts with a $60,000 grant to Daemen College in New York. The grant is helping the college begin their men’s varsity program that will take to the court in the 2018-19 season with the money being dispersed over the next three seasons. Daemen College will become the first Division I-II men’s program in the state, along with the only to offer scholarships.
The AVCA conducted a survey of the membership back in April, finding that 90% agreed that growth in men’s college programs is important to the future of volleyball in the United States. They also found that 76% felt a dedicated effort could produce new programs at Division I and II levels while 82% believed the AVCA should invest time and resources in the initiative.
MotorMVB Foundation Chairman, UCLA men’s head coach and the U.S. men’s national team head coach, John Speraw sees a direct correlation between the success of the MotorMVB campaign and winning more international and Olympic medals in 2024, 2028 and beyond. Speraw also notes a direct correlation between the success of the campaign and more boys participating in youth, club and high school volleyball.
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