NCAA down one program

[donneyp]

There was a thought that Buffalo would add men's volleyball and we'd have one more program, but until Buffalo (or someone else) decides to add a program the NCAA is now down one.

I don't know if its public yet but the NCAA Div 1/2 lost a program in the mid-west this morning. I don't know if the athletes have been told yet so I don't want to name the school, but something has to be done to keep men's volleyball on the map.

Supposedly D3 will hit 50 soon and they will have their own NCAA Championship. Would that do it?

An entire league in North Carolina consiered adding D2 men's volleyball but ultimately didn't. Would that have done it?

How can we push Buffalo to add now? It arguably more important that they add now than it was before.

[future]

Pulled this off the rochestervball forum website. I will send emails too.

What program...let me guess...Ball State....they literally are on theoir last legs with very little money at all. What a shame if this is true.



****************************************************

Get anyone who is ever picked up a volleyball to get to these meeting!!!

Office of the Dean

TO: Robert Pierce
FROM: R. Nils Olsen, Jr., Dean, UB Law School

DATE: February 9, 2007

RE: Community Forums on the Future of UB Athletics

The future of the University at Buffalo is guided by its plans for academic excellence and growth as identified in the UB 2020 initiative and supported by the comprehensive physical plan. UB’s vision for its intercollegiate athletics program is also one of excellence, with student athletes competing successfully in the classroom and competing for championships on the playing field.

In June 2005, Mr. Gene Corrigan, an experienced and widely respected former athletic administrator and consultant in intercollegiate athletics, delivered a report to President Simpson assessing the state of UB’s athletics program and offering a series of recommendations and issues for the university’s consideration. To date, the university’s action steps in response to the report include the affirmation of its commitment to Division I-A football; the hiring of the highly skilled Athletics Director, Warde Manuel; and the appointment of several head coaches, including Turner Gill as football coach. Ongoing efforts are addressing issues such as student athlete welfare and academic performance, capital needs of the athletics program, and resources for supporting a Mid-American Conference championship caliber athletic program.

During the fall semester, President Simpson charged a university committee of faculty, staff, and students to conduct a comprehensive review of the Mr. Corrigan’s report and to deliver further recommendations regarding plans to move UB’s athletics program forward. I am serving as Chair of the committee and Mr. John N. Walsh, III, of the UB Foundation, is serving as vice chair.

Among the issues being considered by the committee are the role of the university’s athletics program within the Buffalo Niagara region, the right mix of sports to be sponsored in the intercollegiate program, and the appropriate strategies that might be implemented to increase the
success of the university’s intercollegiate teams.

The committee actively seeks the input of members of the local community to inform its work. We would welcome your participation in one of two community forums at which members of the committee will meet with educators, business and civic leaders, students, coaches and others to discuss issues of importance to the future of UB athletics.

Forums will be held:
Thursday, February 22, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
United Way of Buffalo and Erie County
742 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo
(corner of Summer Street, parking available behind building)
Tuesday, February 27, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
North Campus, Amherst
(Coventry Road entrance, off Millersport Highway, parking in university
lots near building)
Please feel free to share this correspondence with anyone in the community who you think might be interested in UB athletics or in attending the forums. In addition, we welcome your comments
electronically to be directed to [e-mail]. We appreciate your interest in intercollegiate athletics at the University at Buffalo, and we look forward to seeing you or hearing from you soon.

319 John Lord O’Brian Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-1100
Tel: [phone] Fax [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Web: www.law.buffalo.edu

Rhino14
Senior Member



316 Posts

Posted - 02/12/2007 : 10:49:17 AM Show Profile Reply with Quote
We have tried before to make this a reality, but it failed because of UB's move into the MAC conference. But I also don't think we have ever had a forum to discuss it in like this. It only makes sense to have a D1 men's team in this area with all the quality high school and club programs we have.
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bumpsetcrush
Moderator

147 Posts

Posted - 02/16/2007 : 10:40:09 AM Show Profile Reply with Quote
I travel to Syracuse to watch DI basketball, I would definitely go to Buffalo for DI volleyball. Even if you can't make the meeting, send an email to [e-mail] in support of this idea.
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jet
Senior Member



205 Posts

Posted - 02/16/2007 : 10:59:17 AM Show Profile Reply with Quote
USA VOLLEYBALL - BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL AND BOYS' CLUB STATISTICS BY STATE 11/2006

www.usavolleyball.org/media/Nationa...atabase2006.pdf



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VegasVBall
Senior Member



198 Posts

Posted - 02/16/2007 : 11:39:05 AM Show Profile Reply with Quote
It would be great if this could actually happen. Not sure if many people know this, but Brockport had considered going D-I about 7 years ago. When Frank Short was the head of PE at Brockport, they had the option of going either D-I volleyball or D-III lacrosse. Obviously, they chose lacrosse. Too bad.

Hopefully, UB can make the right choice this time. Imagine the possibilities of players from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Northern PA, and also Canada coming to play D-I volleyball in Buffalo.

[setter]

so what program? this is interesting news

[IdahoBoy]

Eeek. If this is true, do you think another letter-writing campaign will help save the program?

[donneyp]

I'm not talking about Ball State. Smaller program. Still, the point remains, what can we do? Anyone?

[gobears]

There is an NAIA program that was announced yesterday on Prep vb as having cut their program.
There is nothing on the website at the school yet.
This is the middle of the season so one assumes it will be dropped at the end of the season.

What to do?
Every program NCAA/NAIA MUST start pushing harder on fundraising even though most coaches are running around in circles as it is.... trying to get everything done with minimal staff. There is no accounting for what an AD will do if he/she doesn't get the sense that a vball program is working hard at raising funds, at whatever level.

Campus pub helps too in raising the profile of the vb program.

Advertise for an intern spot with the team for marketing...good resume builder even if no pay.

Figure out some way to get the AD to the vball matches. AD present some recognition to some alum or whomever for something - top grades/player, something?? Take fotos.

There WILL be sport programs which occasionally get cut regardless. Trying to keep men's vb from that takes work, a lot of it, ahead of time.
A lot of AD's hardly know the difference between a door knob and a VBall. They are BUSY with other sports.

Visibility, pub, some more funds coming in, academic achievement, fans, growing attendance at annual Alumni match, coach volunteer to the AD to do general pr for the athletic dept(scores brownie points and can make an AD real reticent to cut a program of a coach who is working hard for the whole Ath. Dept)....

.....getting cut can happen to any men's vb program...and a coach who is ignoring that does so at his peril.

[IdahoBoy]

Gobears has a great point. Men's volleyball needs an appearance overhaul and why not let it be a grass-roots effort? Club players are typically very passionate and typically have to create their own funding sources to play, including fund-raisers both on and off campus. It would make sense to do some community-seen fund raising for your program, whether or not you really need the money to show that men's volleyball players aren't a bunch of cheats (several straight national titles removed), and potentially to remove the stigma from the public that "volleyball is a girls game."

Its hard work. I'll vouch for that any time, but its worth it if it'll help the sport in general.

[cyberVBmidwest]

This was published yesterday on the Prep Volleyball board...

p094.ezboard.com/fprepvolleyballfrm7.showMessage?topicID=277.topic

Another sad day in Men's Volleyball

Newman University (Kansas) is discontinuing their men's volleyball program.

I am assuming the players have been told by now. If someone knows that they have not been told, please IM me ASAP!

[IdahoBoy]

What division is Newman?

[cyberVBmidwest]

idahoboy said:

What division is Newman?

DII

Dan Friend the current coach at Lewis came from Newman...

lewisflyers.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/mtt/friend_dan00.html

[Deleted]

Newman has just joined the NCAA from the NAIA. If I remember correctly, they are currently an independent team and I had purely speculated a while back that they could be MIVA bound in the future. If the rumor is true than it's too bad. Take this potential loss and add it to the fact that D-3 Clarke College will be leaving the NCAA and rejoining the NAIA. The MIVA will be slightly reduced.

Just read the Dan Friend profile. I didn't know that he started the men's program back in 2002. What a freakin shame.

Just checked the Newman Men's Volleyball page. They still list themselves as a member of the MAMVIC.

The Jets, a traditional powerhouse in NAIA men's volleyball, seek another successful season in the MAMVIC Conference. Follow the team through another exciting year of Jets volleyball!

Interesting enough, they list the 2007 MAMVIC West tournament on their schedule.

[newburyvball]

they are ncaa d2 provisional so they wouldnt be eligible for ncaa playoffs. They are dual affilated with NCAA and NAIA, by doing this they can still compete for post-season in their other sports in NAIA before their provisional process with the NCAA is over.

[mrsvbdiver]

Newman will not be elligible for post-season NAIA matches. Check out the MAMVIC web site for the following post.
www.mamvic.com/

Newman to Host Conference Tournament: (11/10/2006) The 2007 MAMVIC West Conference Tournament will be held on March 30-31 at Newman University. This decision was made when Newman University opted to remain in the MAMVIC for the 2007 season. The winner of this tournament will receive an automatic bid to the National Invitational Tournament. Should Newman win the conference tournament, the automatic bid will be given to the runner up since Newman is not eligible for post-season competition at this time.

As of today, Newman is still looking forward to hosting the confernence tournament. It is unfortunate to see this program dropped. There was a solid push to go DII for all sports programs. But it unfortunately created an unrealistic travel budget for a school located in the middle of Kansas. The next closest DII school is in Chicago. It will be interesting to see if Newman petitions to have the VB program remain NAIA.