Division-I women’s volleyball welcomes back the NIVC in 2017, a 64-team tournament bringing the postseason experience to hundreds of athletes and coaches who aren’t playing in the NCAA championships.
Research and planning is well underway; the NIVC has contacted about 100 teams to gauge interest in the event. The NIVC was held for seven seasons (1989-95) as a 20-team event, but the remodeled format fans will see in 2017 looks much like college basketball’s Postseason WNIT – which makes sense, as both of those championship moments are produced by Triple Crown Sports. All matches, including the semifinals and championship, are hosted by participating schools. Every round is single elimination. The event offers 32 automatic berths, one to each established conference, and 32 at-large berths. The NIVC field and bracket is announced late on the evening of the NCAA selections. More than 110 teams are on the NIVC’s radar and have been contacted. Two have declined the opportunity. The NIVC is committed to offering deserved opportunities to women’s volleyball programs; the event offers teams an opportunity to get more practices in, to experience playoff-atmosphere games, to play in front of passionate fans and to use their NIVC success and experience as a springboard to the next season. “Many schools have told us they would be interested in hosting NIVC games; we continue to answer questions about how the NIVC works and urge teams to get their information to us sooner rather than later,” said NIVC director Sean Hardy. “Our history with the WNIT is coming in very handy as we prepare for the revival of this event.” Selection Day is Nov. 26; Round 1 and 2 will run Nov. 28-30, Round 3 is Dec. 1-3, Round 4 is Dec. 4-6. The semifinals are Dec. 7-9, and the championship match will be held Dec. 12. With the coast-to-coast excitement brewing about the NIVC, here’s a look at the schools that have been contacted: School Conference Cincinnati AAC SMU AAC Temple AAC Tulane AAC Central Florida AAC Albany America East New Hampshire America East Stony Brook America East UMBC America East FGCU ASUN Jacksonville ASUN Kennesaw State ASUN Lipscomb ASUN Dayton Atlantic 10 VCU Atlantic 10 Duke Atlantic Coast Florida State Atlantic Coast Georgia Tech Atlantic Coast North Carolina Atlantic Coast Syracuse Atlantic Coast Kansas State Big 12 TCU Big 12 Texas Tech Big 12 West Virginia Big 12 Butler Big East Seton Hall Big East Villanova Big East Idaho Big Sky North Dakota Big Sky Northern Colorado Big Sky Portland State Big Sky Sacramento State Big Sky High Point Big South Radford Big South Iowa Big Ten Northwestern Big Ten Hawaii Big West UC Irvine Big West Col. of Charleston Colonial Hofstra Colonial James Madison Colonial Northeastern Colonial Towson Colonial Florida Atlantic Conference USA North Texas Conference USA Rice Conference USA Southern Miss Conference USA Cleveland State Horizon Green Bay Horizon IUPUI Horizon Oakland Horizon Harvard Ivy League Princeton Ivy League Yale Ivy League Fairfield Metro Atlantic Ball State Mid-American Bowling Green Mid-American Miami (OH) Mid-American Bethune-Cookman Mid-Eastern Md. Eastern Shore Mid-Eastern Drake Missouri Valley Illinois State Missouri Valley Missouri State Missouri Valley Northern Iowa Missouri Valley Boise State Mountain West San Diego State Mountain West San Jose State Mountain West Wyoming Mountain West Bryant Northeast Central Conn. State Northeast LIU-Brooklyn Northeast Robert Morris Northeast Austin Peay Ohio Valley Belmont Ohio Valley Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley Murray State Ohio Valley SIUE Ohio Valley California Pac-12 American Patriot Army West Point Patriot Colgate Patriot Navy Patriot Alabama SEC Arkansas SEC Georgia SEC Ole Miss SEC Tennessee SEC Texas A&M SEC ETSU Southern Furman Southern Wofford Southern Central Arkansas Southland Houston Baptist Southland Stephen F. Austin Southland Alabama A&M Southwestern Alabama State Southwestern Texas Southern Southwestern Denver Summit Oral Roberts Summit South Dakota Summit Arkansas State Sun Belt Coastal Carolina Sun Belt Louisiana Sun Belt South Alabama Sun Belt Texas State Sun Belt Gonzaga West Coast Pacific West Coast Pepperdine West Coast Portland West Coast Santa Clara West Coast CSU Bakersfield Western Athletic New Mexico State Western Athletic Utah Valley Western Athletic UTRGV Western Athletic |
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