By Ryan Henders
Staff Writer
North Central College has added men’s volleyball as its 26th official varsity sport starting in the spring of 2016
“About three years ago, Laurie Hamen and I were discussing what other opportunities women have out there and what opportunities men have out there,” said North Central College athletic director Jim Miller.
While there were alternative sports the College considered adding, Miller felt there were constraints with the other options, but none related to the addition of the men’s volleyball team.
“The ones that surfaced on the men’s side were volleyball and lacrosse,” said Miller. “Lacrosse presented different types of challenges than volleyball did, and then on the women’s side you have a lot of options that are not NCAA-sponsored sports.
One of the advantages of welcoming men’s volleyball to the college is the presence of existing facilities.
Schedules for varsity sports will need to be arranged when men’s volleyball is officially a sport, but Miller doesn’t foresee any scheduling conflicts.
“There are no facility conflicts and equipment needs,” said Miller. “[The facilities] are already here, we’ve got the nets, we’ve got the court, we now have the bleachers in the arena—it’s a great venue for volleyball. It’s a very fast sport. It’s exciting to be able to participate in and witness.”
Men’s volleyball is growing at the Division III level, with more schools adding volleyball to their list of men’s sports every year.
“As of two years ago, Division III now sponsors the championship,” said Miller. “There are 61 Division III schools that offer men’s volleyball as of 2012.”
When North Central adds men’s volleyball in 2016, they will be joining the Continental Volleyball Conference. With the addition of North Central College, the conference will be split into an eastern division and a western division.
North Central will compete against the following teams: Carthage, Dominican, Fontbonne, Lakeland, Milwaukee School of Engineering, and College of Mount Saint Joseph.
Miller recognizes the travel costs of the volleyball program, but says a budget will be built accordingly.
In regards to recruitment, Miller is optimistic that prospective students will be excited about the new program.
“We are going to be able to recruit student-athletes from areas that you may or may not have previously as a college,” said Miller. “The area in Chicago from boy’s volleyball to men’s volleyball is really strong and there are not many scholarships for men’s volleyball in Divisions I and II. The competition to get elite players isn’t great. In the state of Illinois, we are going to be the second Division III college to offer men’s volleyball. Dominican is also starting this year. We can recruit against them no problem.”
Volleyball has been a sport at North Central College since 1976, but has never before been offered to male athletes.
“To add men now, it’s just a very popular sport in the area,” said Miller. “It’s an exciting, fast sport that has very little facility needs and equipment budget problems.”
