The long awaited expansion to the NCAA Tournament field has arrived.
The NCAA announced Monday that the Division I-II men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament will expand from nine to 12 teams starting next season.
The expanded field will transform the tournament from a single-site event to a multiple-site event spanning two weeks.
The tournament will now open with four non-predetermined regional sites each consisting of three teams. The top seed in each regional will receive a bye to the regional finals and the winner of each regional finals will advance to the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
The NCAA Tournament semifinals and finals will remain at a predetermined site and will take place the following week.
The three-team expansion to the NCAA Tournament will all be at-large bids. The tournament will now feature five at-large bids and seven conference automatic bids – Big West, ConfCarolinas, EIVA, MIVA, MPSF, NEC and SIAC.
The movement to expand the tournament was a multiple-year process that required approval from multiple NCAA committees. It also coincides with the continued growth in the sport and more than 10 schools adding men’s volleyball programs in the last three years.
This is the fifth time in the last 12 years that the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament field has expanded.
The tournament increased from four teams to six teams in 2014. In addition, the 2014 expansion was the last time the tournament increased the number of at-large bids.
The tournament expanded by one team in 2017, 2024, 2025 to accommodate new conferences qualifying for an automatic bid.