NCAA Votes to Keep Sand Volleyball

Published on January 15, 2010 by sprouticus · No Comments

It’s official: sand volleyball will be available to players at the college level beginning with the 2010-2011 season.

The vote at the NCAA convention was 58 percent in favor of removing the sport from the list of emerging sports for women, which was short of the 62.5 percent needed.

Its designation as an emerging sport gives sand volleyball has 10 years to accumulate enough varsity teams to earn official status as an NCAA championship sport.

Some schools, including powerhouse indoor schools like Penn State and Nebraska, were opposed to including sand volleyball in the NCAA, arguing that resources are already stretched too thin.

Proponents of the designation, however, felt that preventing the sport from getting its shot in the NCAA would be a severe blow for women’s sports in general and volleyball in particular.

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