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The largest volleyball coaching organization in the nation has made a six-figure investment to growing college men’s volleyball.
The AVCA announced Tuesday that its board of directors approved a $150,000 contribution to the MotorMVB Foundation.
MotorMVB is a recently established non-profit organization dedicated to growing boys’ and men’s volleyball throughout the United States. The organization has a goal of increasing the college men’s volleyball programs from 188 to 380 teams within the next 10 years.
“This is the right time for the AVCA to step into a leadership role in this initiative,” Christy Johnson-Lynch, AVCA President and Iowa State women’s volleyball head coach, said in a statement. “Our mission is to advance the sport with the AVCA in a leadership role. This means being at the front end of growth initiatives and making an investment before outcomes are assured. A previous board did this when beach volleyball was just a vision and now it is our turn to lead. I’m pleased to report that 100 percent of our board members also made individual contributions as demonstration of our commitment to these efforts. We will be engaged in further outreach to the coaching community, asking for both time and resources, as this is an opportunity for all of us to help grow our sport.”
The contribution from the AVCA will be paid throughout the next three years.
More than 75 percent of AVCA members felt the association should invest time and resources to helping develop new NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball programs, according to an AVCA survey conducted in April.
Within its first year, MotorMVB has already helped start one college men’s volleyball program. Daemen College, a NCAA Division II school in New York, announced in May that it would add men’s volleyball thanks in part to a $60,000 grant from MotorMVB.
The contribution from the AVCA also comes a week after Cal Baptist opted to disbanded its Division II men’s volleyball program.
“Our members were clear that the AVCA should act,” AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer said in a statement. “The addition of a men’s scholarship program at Division II’s Daemon College and the elimination of the men’s team at Division II Cal Baptist in the same week give reason for hope while also creating a sense of urgency. We must protect the programs we have and adopt a laser focus on identifying the institutions where a men’s team adds value to the campus.”
The AVCA is comprised of more than 7,000 members ranging from youth volleyball coaches to Olympic coaches. It also is one of the nation’s leaders in education for coaches and promoting the sport of volleyball.
“The AVCA continues to play a leadership role in volleyball, and this commitment to MotorMVB is much appreciated,” MotorMVB CEO Wade Garard said in a statement. “Thanks to the AVCA and all of our existing and future donors, more young people will have access to opportunities and scholarships. We believe there is nothing more important than providing opportunities for young people to grow and develop.”