Posted on: Thursday, June 9, 2005

Expansion of NCAA volleyball field sought

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Men's volleyball leaders have filed a request to expand the field for the NCAA Championships from four to eight teams.

"We're hopeful the NCAA will approve the proposal," UCLA coach Al Scates said. "We think it's a good one."

Scates said he expects the measure to be approved, at the earliest, for the 2007 tournament.

The current format calls for the postseason tournament winners of the three Division I/II conferences — Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association — to earn automatic berths in the NCAA final four.

The at-large berth always has gone to a team from those conferences, although a Division III team is eligible.

Division III teams do not compete for an NCAA championship. Instead, four teams are invited to compete in the Molten Division III Men's Invitational Tournament for the unofficial division championship.

Under the proposed terms, the three Division I/II conferences would be guaranteed at least two berths in the NCAA Championships. Scates said he expects one of the at-large berths will go to a Division III team.

This past season, there were 83 NCAA men's volleyball teams — 40 from Division I/II and 43 from Division III.

Findlay (of Ohio), which competes in the MIVA, is dropping the sport, but Division III is adding another team.

"It's a push," Scates said. "We lose a team but we pick up a team."

Scates said men's volleyball is deserving of an expanded championship tournament. "Everybody has a ratio of 1 to 5," he said. "We're at 1 to 20."

UH coach Mike Wilton noted that women's water polo has 61 teams competing for eight spots in the NCAA tournament.

"For sure, we have some ammunition to increase the (men's volleyball) teams," Wilton said. "Even going to six would be a good step."

Expanding the field is expected to diminish controversial invitations. This year, UCLA, which finished second in the regular season, was awarded the NCAA at-large berth despite losing in the opening round of the MPSF Tournament. Long Beach State, which advanced to the MPSF title match, was snubbed.

An expanded field "greatly lessens the possibility a real deserving team will get shut out," Wilton said.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.