NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament

The NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament is a championship event officially sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), 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. The tournament would be followed as the newest NCAA championship event by a single all-divisions championship in women's beach volleyball which began in 2016.

NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament
SportCollege indoor volleyball
Founded2012
No. of teams14
Country United States
Most recent
champion(s)		New Paltz (2019)
Most titlesSpringfield (5)
Official websiteNCAA.com

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
See also: List of NCAA men's volleyball programs

The Division III championship began in 2012 with nine teams and has steadily expanded with the growth of D-III men's volleyball. The most recent expansion came for the 2019 season, with the field going from 12 to 14 teams.[2] 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 and seven for 2018. Like the National Collegiate Championship, the Division III championship is a knockout tournament, with best-of-5-set matches. The current tournament format features six first-round matches, with the winners joining the top two seeds in the quarterfinals.[3]

Champions

Source = [4]

Year National Champion Score Runner-up City and venue Attendance
Finals/Total		 Host school
2012[5] Springfield (33–5) 3–0 Carthage (29–6) Springfield, MA Blake Arena 1,600
5,723		 Springfield
2013[6] Springfield (32–3)[7] 3–0[8] Nazareth (36–2)[7] Pittsford, NY[9] Kidera Gymnasium 1,000
2,676		 Nazareth
2014 Springfield (27–8)[10] 3–0[10] Juniata (29–5)[11] Huntingdon, PA Kennedy Sports Center[11] 816
3,022		 Juniata
2015 Stevens (31–4)[12] 3–0 Springfield (25–7)[13] Hoboken, NJ Canavan Arena 1,126
2,506		 Stevens
2016 New Paltz (33–2) 3–1 Springfield (28–4) Pittsford, NY Kidera Gymnasium 914
3,364		 Nazareth
2017 Springfield (33–5) 3–1 New Paltz (27–9) Springfield, MA Blake Arena 2,000
6,099		 Springfield
2018 Springfield (31–2) 3–0 Stevens (27–5) Kenosha, WI Tarble Arena 550
TBD		 Carthage
2019 New Paltz (28–7) 3–1 UC Santa Cruz (21–17) Union, NJ Harwood Arena 322
TBD		 Kean
2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic Dubuque, IA Athletic Wellness Center TBD Loras
2021 Pittsford, NY Kidera Gymnasium TBD Nazareth

References
  1. Knox, Stephen (April 30, 2012). "Advocates of championship succeed". NCAA. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  2. "DIII committee proposes uses for new revenue" (Press release). NCAA. June 20, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  3. "DIII men's volleyball championship selection show set for Monday at 10 a.m. ET on NCAA.com". NCAA. April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  4. "Division III Men's Volleyball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  5. "Springfield College Wins the Inaugural NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship" (Press release). Springfield College Athletics. April 29, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  6. "MIT replaces Stevens to host Div. III Men's Volleyball Championship" (Press release). NCAA. November 29, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  7. 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)
  8. 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.
  9. 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. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  10. "Springfield College men clinch third straight volleyball national championship". The Republican. Springfield, MA. April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  11. "Eagles Fall to No. 1 Springfield in National Championship" (Press release). Juniata College Sports. April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  12. "Stevens' volleyball title marks first team championship in school history" (Press release). NCAA. April 27, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  13. "Men's Volleyball Falls In the NCAA National Championship Match To Stevens" (Press release). Springfield College Pride. April 26, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
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