MUSTANG MOMENTUM
Stevenson may not have the surf , but we have the sand ! On July 13 , the University announced that it is adding men ’ s beach volleyball as its 29 th NCAA Division III sport , becoming the first NCAA school in the nation to sponsor a varsity men ’ s beach volleyball program .
Stevenson was the first in the nation to establish an NCAA DIII women ’ s beach volleyball program , which launched in spring 2016 , and has had an NCAA DIII men ’ s indoor volleyball program since 2002 .
“ At Stevenson , we have always taken an entrepreneurial approach to enhancing academic , co-curricular , and athletic opportunities for students ,” said President Hirshman . “ From launching new academic programs in biomedical engineering and healthcare management to campus expansions such as our Zaffere Library and our Owings Mills East campus sports complex opening this fall , we are committed to offering students exceptional experiences in and out of the classroom . The recent addition of acrobatics and tumbling to our NCAA athletics program and now men ’ s beach volleyball as a varsity program are clear signs of this momentum .”
“ We are committed to helping studentathletes compete at their highest level , and looking at new and emerging varsity and club sports is key to this ,” said Brett Adams , Director of Athletics . “ The growth of our women ’ s NCAA beach volleyball program has shown us the excitement and demand for this sport , which is already an extremely popular Olympic sport . We think now is the time to be on the forefront and develop a men ' s varsity program as well .”
Stevenson has taken several steps in
this direction over the past several years . The first was building its women ’ s beach volleyball program and creating a home venue by adding four sand courts to its Owings Mills campus sports complex . The second step was hosting the first USA Volleyball ( USAV ) Men ’ s Beach Collegiate Challenge last September , partnering with USAV and the American Volleyball Coaches Association ( AVCA ). The threeday event , sanctioned by USAV as part of their National Team Development
Program ( NTDP ), brought 37 teams to Stevenson ’ s campus .
“ The growth of boys and men ’ s volleyball is a huge priority for USAV and to see Stevenson adding men ’ s beach volleyball is extremely rewarding ,” said USA Volleyball President and CEO Jamie Davis . “ I am convinced that more NCAA institutions will follow suit as the popularity of the sport for men continues to explode .”
“ Stevenson is pioneering the way for this sport and creating a model for other collegiate athletic programs to follow ,” said Kathy DeBoer , Executive Director of the AVCA . “ Intercollegiate beach volleyball has exploded over the last few years , and women ’ s beach volleyball made the quickest transition from an emerging sport to a championship sport in NCAA history . While the NCAA currently has no emerging sports process for men ’ s beach volleyball , we believe the momentum is there to reach 50 or more varsity programs over the next few years and transition this to an NCAA Championship sport .”
Stevenson ' s program will launch this fall 2022 and compete against National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA ) and collegiate club teams . The program will include regular training , and Stevenson has begun a national search for a new men ' s beach volleyball coach . Men ’ s beach volleyball will compete as a fall sport , opposite the spring season for men ’ s indoor volleyball , creating dualsport opportunities for current and future Mustang volleyball players throughout the academic year .
WANT MORE ? Check out gomustangsports . com and find videos , photos , stats , schedules , interviews , and much more . To stay up to date , bookmark the site and visit frequently .
STEVENSON . EDU | 16