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Men’s volleyball will be among the first male sports teams added at a ConfCarolinas school.
Converse announced Wednesday that it will start a men’s volleyball program along with five other men’s teams at the start of the 2021-22 school year.
Converse historically has been a women’s only college for all its undergraduate programs. However, the school announced in February that it would begin to admit males as part of its new undergraduate residential program.
“Converse offers unmatched benefits for prospective student-athletes wanting to play NCAA Division II sports,” athletics director Jenn Bell said in a statement. “The men who will comprise the inaugural athletic teams will have the opportunity to compete right away and will be a part of shaping the future of men’s athletics at Converse.”
Men’s volleyball will be the one of two volleyball programs for the Valkyries. The Converse women’s volleyball team finished the 2019 season with 10 wins and reached the ConfCarolinas Tournament for the first time since 2013.
Converse, which is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, has an enrollment of about 900 undergraduate students and 13 women’s sports programs. Along with men’s volleyball, the Valkyries will add men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s soccer, men’s tennis and men’s track and field.
“This is a big announcement not only for Converse, but for all involved with Conference Carolinas, in that it continues to add to what is already an extremely bright future for our league,” ConfCarolinas Commissioner Chris Colvin said in a statement. “We look forward to having just as successful of a relationship with Converse men’s sports as we have had with their women’s sports.”
With the addition of Converse, there will be nine men’s volleyball programs in the ConfCarolinas for the 2022 season.
The ConfCarolinas will be down to eight teams next season because of Limestone leaving the conference and its men’s volleyball program competing as an independent.