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Post by donut on Dec 9, 2021 12:04:01 GMT -5
There have been murmurs at Vandy of volleyball being the next sport since at least 2010. They were always interested in softball because of the SEC's dominance in softball, so maybe now that the SEC is on the rise (#rocket) there will be a stronger push for volleyball! Looking at their list of sports, it appears likely they sponsor just enough sports to meet any conference or D1 minimum requirement. They show to sponsor 6 men's sports and 9 women's. In men's, they have cross country but not track and field. In women's, they have lacrosse and bowling, but no volleyball or softball. Appears their administration must be satisfied with the current number of sports and I would guess it won't change until the SEC puts pressure on them to add sports. Like the Big 12 with Okie State not playing volleyball, a school not playing a major sport tends to screw up scheduling for the other schools. Vanderbilt organizes their athletics department differently than any other D1 school, I believe. It's under Student Life. Not saying that's a good or bad thing, but it's probably accurate to say they treat athletics differently than most D1 schools (and even differently than some of their peer schools like Stanford, Duke, Northwestern). Bowling is random, but hey, they're really good! Lacrosse is predictable given where the student body traditionally comes from. My impression is that the SEC doesn't put much pressure on Vanderbilt. Despite the football program, it seems SEC likes their academic jewel (and founding member). But I think there's hope -- the outgoing AD in 2019 said he regretted not adding new athletic teams, specifically mentioning volleyball. Having a female AD amplifies that hope a bit too.
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Post by Friday on Dec 9, 2021 12:27:31 GMT -5
I've said it blows my mind that Vandy doesn't have volleyball. It would be such a huge draw for many PSAs.
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Post by n00b on Dec 9, 2021 12:30:15 GMT -5
Looking at their list of sports, it appears likely they sponsor just enough sports to meet any conference or D1 minimum requirement. They show to sponsor 6 men's sports and 9 women's. In men's, they have cross country but not track and field. In women's, they have lacrosse and bowling, but no volleyball or softball. Appears their administration must be satisfied with the current number of sports and I would guess it won't change until the SEC puts pressure on them to add sports. Like the Big 12 with Okie State not playing volleyball, a school not playing a major sport tends to screw up scheduling for the other schools. Vanderbilt organizes their athletics department differently than any other D1 school, I believe. It's under Student Life. Not saying that's a good or bad thing, but it's probably accurate to say they treat athletics differently than most D1 schools (and even differently than some of their peer schools like Stanford, Duke, Northwestern). Bowling is random, but hey, they're really good! Lacrosse is predictable given where the student body traditionally comes from. My impression is that the SEC doesn't put much pressure on Vanderbilt. Despite the football program, it seems SEC likes their academic jewel (and founding member). But I think there's hope -- the outgoing AD in 2019 said he regretted not adding new athletic teams, specifically mentioning volleyball. Having a female AD amplifies that hope a bit too. Having only women's indoor and outdoor track actually means their Title IX proportionality is spot on (despite having football). They'd probably need to add a men's sport too if they add something for women.
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Post by donut on Dec 9, 2021 12:44:16 GMT -5
Vanderbilt organizes their athletics department differently than any other D1 school, I believe. It's under Student Life. Not saying that's a good or bad thing, but it's probably accurate to say they treat athletics differently than most D1 schools (and even differently than some of their peer schools like Stanford, Duke, Northwestern). Bowling is random, but hey, they're really good! Lacrosse is predictable given where the student body traditionally comes from. My impression is that the SEC doesn't put much pressure on Vanderbilt. Despite the football program, it seems SEC likes their academic jewel (and founding member). But I think there's hope -- the outgoing AD in 2019 said he regretted not adding new athletic teams, specifically mentioning volleyball. Having a female AD amplifies that hope a bit too. Having only women's indoor and outdoor track actually means their Title IX proportionality is spot on (despite having football). They'd probably need to add a men's sport too if they add something for women. In that vein, I've heard men's track or hockey mentioned. Men's hockey might be able to use Bridgestone. The Preds have turned Nashville into quite the hockey city. (Plus the club uniforms are sick)
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Post by stevehorn on Dec 9, 2021 12:44:47 GMT -5
Looking at their list of sports, it appears likely they sponsor just enough sports to meet any conference or D1 minimum requirement. They show to sponsor 6 men's sports and 9 women's. In men's, they have cross country but not track and field. In women's, they have lacrosse and bowling, but no volleyball or softball. Appears their administration must be satisfied with the current number of sports and I would guess it won't change until the SEC puts pressure on them to add sports. Like the Big 12 with Okie State not playing volleyball, a school not playing a major sport tends to screw up scheduling for the other schools. 16 sports is the FBS minimum. I assume they have both indoor and outdoor track for women that gets grouped together on the website but are technically different sports. That would be correct.
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Post by n00b on Dec 9, 2021 13:07:51 GMT -5
Having only women's indoor and outdoor track actually means their Title IX proportionality is spot on (despite having football). They'd probably need to add a men's sport too if they add something for women. In that vein, I've heard men's track or hockey mentioned. Men's hockey might be able to use Bridgestone. The Preds have turned Nashville into quite the hockey city. (Plus the club uniforms are sick) Men's soccer would make sense too. New MLS Club and Nashville frequently hosts National Team games. The down side is that only two other SEC teams have men's soccer teams so they'd have to join another conference as an affiliate member.
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Post by stevehorn on Dec 9, 2021 13:20:59 GMT -5
Looking at their list of sports, it appears likely they sponsor just enough sports to meet any conference or D1 minimum requirement. They show to sponsor 6 men's sports and 9 women's. In men's, they have cross country but not track and field. In women's, they have lacrosse and bowling, but no volleyball or softball. Appears their administration must be satisfied with the current number of sports and I would guess it won't change until the SEC puts pressure on them to add sports. Like the Big 12 with Okie State not playing volleyball, a school not playing a major sport tends to screw up scheduling for the other schools. Vanderbilt organizes their athletics department differently than any other D1 school, I believe. It's under Student Life. Not saying that's a good or bad thing, but it's probably accurate to say they treat athletics differently than most D1 schools (and even differently than some of their peer schools like Stanford, Duke, Northwestern). Bowling is random, but hey, they're really good! Lacrosse is predictable given where the student body traditionally comes from. My impression is that the SEC doesn't put much pressure on Vanderbilt. Despite the football program, it seems SEC likes their academic jewel (and founding member). But I think there's hope -- the outgoing AD in 2019 said he regretted not adding new athletic teams, specifically mentioning volleyball. Having a female AD amplifies that hope a bit too. Pure conjecture but I suspect as the $$ from the TV deals grow, the SEC might make sports like volleyball and softball mandatory. Would be hard for Vanderbilt to fight that when they are receiving increased monies that can be used to fund the sports. If Vanderbilt were to push back, I could see some push to cut their $$ share a bit until they add the sports.
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Post by donut on Dec 9, 2021 13:35:18 GMT -5
In that vein, I've heard men's track or hockey mentioned. Men's hockey might be able to use Bridgestone. The Preds have turned Nashville into quite the hockey city. (Plus the club uniforms are sick) Men's soccer would make sense too. New MLS Club and Nashville frequently hosts National Team games. The down side is that only two other SEC teams have men's soccer teams so they'd have to join another conference as an affiliate member. Hell, men's swimming might be the easiest sport to add.
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Post by donut on Dec 9, 2021 13:41:46 GMT -5
Vanderbilt organizes their athletics department differently than any other D1 school, I believe. It's under Student Life. Not saying that's a good or bad thing, but it's probably accurate to say they treat athletics differently than most D1 schools (and even differently than some of their peer schools like Stanford, Duke, Northwestern). Bowling is random, but hey, they're really good! Lacrosse is predictable given where the student body traditionally comes from. My impression is that the SEC doesn't put much pressure on Vanderbilt. Despite the football program, it seems SEC likes their academic jewel (and founding member). But I think there's hope -- the outgoing AD in 2019 said he regretted not adding new athletic teams, specifically mentioning volleyball. Having a female AD amplifies that hope a bit too. Pure conjecture but I suspect as the $$ from the TV deals grow, the SEC might make sports like volleyball and softball mandatory. Would be hard for Vanderbilt to fight that when they are receiving increased monies that can be used to fund the sports. If Vanderbilt were to push back, I could see some push to cut their $$ share a bit until they add the sports. As of right now, I don't see volleyball pushing the needle. Viewership still lags significantly behind softball and basketball. I also think that if the SEC were going to institute that sort of requirement, they would have done so already for softball, given its popularity. But maybe you're right. Regardless, the increasing $$$ for Vandy can only be a good thing for anyone hoping they introduce volleyball.
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Post by stevehorn on Dec 9, 2021 15:29:18 GMT -5
Men's soccer would make sense too. New MLS Club and Nashville frequently hosts National Team games. The down side is that only two other SEC teams have men's soccer teams so they'd have to join another conference as an affiliate member. Hell, men's swimming might be the easiest sport to add. It takes a large roster if you want to be a competitive program in men's swimming so it might take two women's sports to balance it for Title IX purposes.
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Post by vballfannbama on Dec 9, 2021 15:32:42 GMT -5
There is a SEC storied about Vandy Bowling....The AD at the time said the decision was between bowling and I think volleyball as the next sport and we all know what they choose instead
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Post by nogame on Dec 9, 2021 15:36:25 GMT -5
Believe it or not but when the indoor football facility was built in 2012, an ancillary gym was added to the Rec Center. It has all the necessary court set up to serve as a practice facility including locker room space. As for Memorial Gym, the court surface is actually significantly larger than the venues being used in the tournament. I believe Minnesota has played few matches in The Barn and have never had an issue. The biggest issue about Memorial Gym is that there isn't any air conditioning. It's brutally hot in the summer through September.
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Post by donut on Dec 9, 2021 15:42:39 GMT -5
Hell, men's swimming might be the easiest sport to add. It takes a large roster if you want to be a competitive program in men's swimming so it might take two women's sports to balance it for Title IX purposes. I mean, the exact same thing could be said about the other men's sports being discussed here.
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Post by donut on Dec 9, 2021 15:43:35 GMT -5
The biggest issue about Memorial Gym is that there isn't any air conditioning. It's brutally hot in the summer through September. UK says hi.
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Post by tomclen on Dec 9, 2021 15:49:50 GMT -5
Vanderbilt is sitting on a $10-Billion endowment. That puts them in the top 20 of university endowments.
They could likely afford a volleyball facility and could spring for the land for a pretty nice softball stadium if they wanted.
Their priorities seem to lean toward medicine, more than sports.
Maybe they've got it right.
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