 | |
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Sport | Collegiate volleyball |
| Founded | 1970; 55 years ago (1970) |
| Division | Division I andDivision II |
| No. of teams | 12 (Starting in 2026) |
| Country |  United States |
| Most recent champion | Long Beach State (4) |
| Most titles | UCLA (21) |
| Broadcaster | ESPN2 |
| Official website | NCAA.com |
TheNCAA men's volleyball tournament, officially titled theNCAA national collegiate men's volleyball championship, is an annual competition that determines theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in American college men'svolleyball. It had been the only NCAA championship in the sport from 1970 until 2012, when the NCAA launched aDivision III championship.
Unlike most NCAA sports, men's volleyball uses a modified version of theNational Collegiate championship format, which meansDivision I andDivision II teams compete against each other in the same tournament.
In the past, schools from the Pacific Coast region have dominated this sport, in particularUCLA with coach Al Scates leading the program to 19 NCAA titles (more than any other coach).
Before the 2011–12 school year (2012 championship), men's volleyball did not have an official divisional structure; even now, that structure is truncated. The National Collegiate Championship remains as the NCAA's top-level championship, but Division III members now have their own championship event.
With the introduction of an official Division III championship, schools in that division are no longer eligible for the National Collegiate Championship. The last exception was Rutgers–Newark, whose men's volleyball program had been agrandfathered scholarship program, and could compete for the National Collegiate Championship through 2014. Rutgers–Newark completed a transition to Division III men's volleyball at the end of that season, and joined the D-IIIContinental Volleyball Conference effective with the 2015 season.
There are three general regions for men's volleyball: "West", "Midwest", and "East". As of the current 2024 NCAA men's volleyball season, five "major conferences", defined here as leagues that include full members of Division I, represent these regions. The three "traditional" major conferences are theMountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF),Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), andEastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). In the 2018 season, the ranks of "major" conferences expanded to include theBig West Conference, the first Division I all-sports conference ever to sponsor men's volleyball. TheNortheast Conference (NEC) became the second D-I all-sports conference to sponsor men's volleyball in the 2023 season.
As of the 2024 season, three Division II conferences sponsor men's volleyball at the National Collegiate level.Conference Carolinas (CC) was the first NCAA conference ever to sponsor men's volleyball as a scholarship sport, having launched its men's volleyball league in the 2012 season. The 2021 season was to have been the first for theSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), with six men's volleyball members, but the conference chose not to compete in that season due toCOVID-19 issues. CC has had an automatic berth in the National Collegiate championship since the 2014 season, and the Big West received an automatic berth upon the creation of its men's volleyball league. The SIAC received its first automatic berth in the 2024 season. With the NEC having lost three of its original eight men's volleyball members, it will not receive its first automatic bid until 2028, two years after its men's volleyball membership returns to seven. TheEast Coast Conference began sponsoring men's volleyball in the 2024 season, but started play with only four members, two short of the number needed to eventually receive an automatic berth. Further expansion is expected in the future. In addition to the impending NEC automatic bid, theGreat Lakes Valley Conference will add the sport in the 2026 season with seven members (one from the MIVA, five independents, and one new program), putting it in position for an automatic bid in 2028. The MIVA will remain at nine members with the addition of Northern Kentucky for the 2026 season.
Members of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), a separate athletics governing body whose members are primarily smaller institutions, regularly play matches against NCAA teams.
Because of the historic lack of an official divisional structure in men's volleyball, four of the five major conferences have members that normally compete in Division II. Before the creation of the Division III national championship, the EIVA had several Division III members, but all of those schools now compete in D-III men's volleyball. The Big West became the first men's volleyball conference to consist entirely of D-I members in the 2021 season; this immediately followed UC San Diego, previously a Big West affiliate in men's volleyball (as well as women's water polo), starting its transition to Division I and fully joining the Big West. The NEC initially announced that it would launch its men's volleyball league in the 2023 season with five full D-I members and transitional D-I member Merrimack, but later announced that it would add Daemen and D'Youville, D-II members that had previously played as National Collegiate independents, as associate members effective with its first season in 2023.
Through the 2013 tournament, each of the three major conferences of that day (MPSF, MIVA and EIVA) received an automatic bid to the Final Four, with one additional at-large bid. The remaining bid was an at-large bid that could be awarded to any team in Division I or II (including Rutgers–Newark). Generally, the best team not receiving an automatic bid (usually from one of the three major conferences) received the at-large bid.
Beginning with the 2014 championship, the field expanded to six teams, with the two new teams being the champion of Conference Carolinas and one extra at-large entry. The new format featured two quarterfinal matches involving the four lowest-seeded teams in the field, with the winners joining the two top seeds in the semifinals. Originally, the quarterfinals were to be played at campus sites, with the Final Four at a separate predetermined site, but it was decided instead to have the entire championship tournament at one site.
With the Big West Conference adding men's volleyball for the 2018 season and qualifying for an automatic tournament berth, the championship expanded to seven teams. The bottom two tournament seeds contested a "play-in" match; from that point, the tournament format was identical to the one used from 2014 to 2017.[1]
The championship expanded to eight teams for 2024, coinciding with the SIAC receiving an automatic bid for the first time, and in 2025 it expanded to nine bids with the NEC getting auto-bid status. In 2024 all teams played at a single site in a pure knockout format, but in 2025 they added an opening round game on a campus site with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and Championship being at one central site.[2]
On September 8, 2025, the first major expansion occurred since the second at-large bid was added back in 2014. There had been public outcry for tournament expansion — namely to add more at-large bids — since the public viewed the fluctuating total of 6-9 teams as too few in the tournament. It was announced byAVCA that the initiative for bracket expansion had been fully funded resulting in a 12 team tournament starting for the 2026 tournament.[3] The format will consist of four non-predetermined regional sites with three teams competing at each site. Two teams will compete in a regional-round with the third team receiving a bye and will compete against the winner in a regional final-round match. Winners from each of the regional final-round sites will advance to compete at the finals site. Put simply, four teams receive hosting duties and a bye to the quarterfinals, while eight other battle in the first round. The winner from there will head to the finals site, where both the semifinals and finals are played.
As stated, the GLVC will not receive an automatic bid until at least 2028, and the ECC will not receive one until the six team requirement is met, plus two years following. This therefore means that seven teams will receive their conference's at-large bids, and an unprecedented five teams will receive an at-large bid for the 2026 and 2027 tournament.
From 1986 to 2021, the number of Division I schools sponsoring men's volleyball fluctuated between 20 and 24 teams.[4] Since that time, the number of such teams has moderately increased, with 26 in 2022 and 29 in each season from 2023 to 2025, with three more D-I schools adding the sport in 2026.
The three newest such schools all started play as D-I members in the 2023 season, during which all were transitioning from D-II to D-I. Merrimack, which started its D-I transition in 2020, added a new team in the 2023 season. The other two, Lindenwood and Queens (NC), already sponsored the sport at the National Collegiate level, and started transitions from D-II to D-I in July 2022.
No traditional D-I conferences sponsored men's volleyball until the Big West Conference added the sport for the 2018 season. The Big West became the first NCAA men's volleyball league to consist entirely of D-I members when UC San Diego, which was one of the six charter members of Big West men's volleyball, began a transition to D-I upon joining the Big West full-time in July 2020. Of the other four major conferences, the only all-sports league is the Northeast Conference (NEC), which started men's volleyball play in the 2023 season with six full conference members and two D-II members as single-sport associates. The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) and Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) are volleyball-specific conferences, while the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a multi-sport conference of schools whose primary conferences do not sponsor its ten sports. In addition to the 29 D-I schools, 33 Division II schools competed in D-I volleyball during the 2024 season:
Four Division II schools launched National Collegiate men's volleyball programs for the 2024 season.
Two schools that played National Collegiate men's volleyball in 2023 did not return for 2024. Full NEC member St. Francis Brooklyn shut down its entire athletic program,[14] and Alderson Broaddus, a D-II member that played as a National Collegiate independent, closed entirely.[15]
Thirteen additional schools, most of them either current Division II members or transitioning to D-II, have either added National Collegiate programs for the 2025 season or will do so in the near future.
Division II does not have a separate national championship, although a D-II rule change that took effect in 2024–25 will allow that division to launch its own men's volleyball championship in the near future should it so desire. Before 2024–25, a D-II championship in a men's sport could not be sponsored unless at least 50 schools in that division sponsored a sport; that number has now been reduced to 35.[30] Should a D-II championship be established, Division I would not have a sufficient number of teams to sponsor its own national championship. Currently, a men's sport must be sponsored by at least 50 schools before a Division I championship can be organized.[31] However, a separate D-I rule provision states that existing National Collegiate or D-I championships in Olympic sports are exempt from minimum sponsorship requirements.[32]
| NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship[33] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Site (Host) | Host Arena | Final | Third Place Final / Other participants | |||||||||
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third Place | Score | Fourth Place | ||||||||
| 1970 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UCLA (24–1)1 | 3–0 | Long Beach State | UC Santa Barbara | 2–0 | Ball State | |||||
| 1971 Details | UCLA (29–1)2 | 3–2 | UC Santa Barbara | Ball State | 2–0 | Springfield | |||||||
| 1972 Details | Muncie, Indiana (Ball State) | Irving Gymnasium | UCLA (27–7)3 | 3–2 | San Diego State | Ball State | 2–0 | UC Santa Barbara | |||||
| 1973 Details | San Diego (San Diego State) | Peterson Gym | San Diego State (21–5) | 3–1 | Long Beach State | Ball State | 2–0 | Army | |||||
| 1974 Details | Santa Barbara, California[a] (UCSB) | Robertson Gymnasium | UCLA (30–5)4 | 3–2 | UC Santa Barbara | Ball State | 2–1 | Springfield | |||||
| 1975 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UCLA (27–8)5 | 3–1 | UC Santa Barbara | Ohio State | 2–0 | Yale | |||||
| 1976 Details | Muncie, Indiana (Ball State) | Irving Gymnasium | UCLA (15–2)6 | 3–0 | Pepperdine | Ohio State | 2–0 | Springfield | |||||
| 1977 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | USC (18–1)1 | 3–1 | Ohio State | Pepperdine | 2–0 | Rutgers–Newark | |||||
| 1978 Details | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) | St. John Arena | Pepperdine (21–4)1 | 3–2 | UCLA | Ohio State | 2–0 | Rutgers–Newark | |||||
| 1979 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UCLA (30–0)7 | 3–1 | USC | Rutgers–Newark | 3–2 | Ball State | |||||
| 1980 Details | Muncie, Indiana (Ball State) | Irving Gymnasium | USC (22–6)2 | 3–1 | UCLA | Ohio State | 3–0 | Rutgers–Newark | |||||
| 1981 Details | Santa Barbara, California[a] (UCSB) | UCSB Events Center | UCLA (32–3)8 | 3–2 | USC | Penn State | 3–1 | Ohio State | |||||
| 1982 Details | University Park, Pennsylvania[b] (Penn State) | Rec Hall | UCLA (29–0)9 | 3–0 | Penn State | USC | 2–1 | Ohio State | |||||
| 1983 Details | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) | St. John Arena | UCLA (27–4)10 | 3–0 | Pepperdine | Ohio State | 3–1 | Penn State | |||||
| 1984 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UCLA (38–0)11 | 3–1 | Pepperdine | George Mason | 3–0 | Ball State | |||||
| 1985 Details | Pepperdine (25–2)2 | 3–2 | USC | George Mason | 3–0 | Ball State | |||||||
| 1986 Details | University Park, Pennsylvania[b] (Penn State) | Rec Hall | Pepperdine (22–7)3 | 3–2 | USC | Penn State | 3–0 | Ohio State | |||||
| 1987 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UCLA (28–3)12 | 3–0 | USC | Penn State | 3–0 | Ohio State | |||||
| 1988 Details | Fort Wayne, Indiana (IPFW)[c] | ACWMC | USC (34–4)3 | 3–2 | UC Santa Barbara | Ball State | 3–1 | George Mason | |||||
| 1989 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UCLA (29–5)13 | 3–1 | Stanford | Penn State | 3–0 | Ball State | |||||
| 1990 Details | Fairfax, Virginia[d] (George Mason) | Patriot Center | USC (26–7)4 | 3–1 | Long Beach State | Ball State | 3–1 | Rutgers–Newark | |||||
| 1991 Details | Honolulu, HI (Hawai'i) | Neal S. Blaisdell Center | Long Beach State (31–4)1 | 3–1 | USC | IPFW | 3–1 | Penn State | |||||
| 1992 Details | Muncie, Indiana (Ball State) | John E. Worthen Arena | Pepperdine (24–4)4 | 3–0 | Stanford | Penn State | 3–0 | IPFW | |||||
| 1993 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UCLA (24–3)14 | 3–0 | Cal State Northridge | Penn State | 3–2 | Ohio State | |||||
| 1994 Details | Fort Wayne, Indiana (IPFW) | ACWMC | Penn State (26–3)1 | 3–2 | UCLA | Ball State | 3–0 | IPFW | |||||
| 1995 Details | Springfield, Massachusetts (Springfield) | Springfield Civic Center | UCLA (31–1)15 | 3–0 | Penn State | Ball State | 3–1 | Hawai'i | |||||
| 1996 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UCLA (26–5)16 | 3–2 | Hawai'i | Lewis and Penn State | |||||||
| 1997 Details | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) | St. John Arena | Stanford (27–4)1 | 3–2 | UCLA | Ball State and Penn State | |||||||
| 1998 Details | Honolulu, HI (Hawai'i) | Stan Sheriff Center | UCLA (28–4)17 | 3–0 | Pepperdine | Lewis andPrinceton | |||||||
| 1999 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | BYU (30–1)1 | 3–0 | Long Beach State | IPFW and Penn State | |||||||
| 2000 Details | Fort Wayne, Indiana (IPFW)[c] | ACWMC | UCLA (29–5)18 | 3–0 | Ohio State | Penn State and Pepperdine | |||||||
| 2001 Details | Long Beach, California (Long Beach State) | The Pyramid | BYU (23–4)2 | 3–0 | UCLA | Ohio State and Penn State | |||||||
| 2002 Details | University Park, Pennsylvania[b] (Penn State) | Rec Hall | Hawai'i (24–8)† | 3–1 | Pepperdine | Ball State and Penn State | |||||||
| 2003 Details | Long Beach, California (Long Beach State) | The Pyramid | Lewis (29–6)† | 3–2 | BYU | Penn State and Pepperdine | |||||||
| 2004 Details | Honolulu, HI (Hawai'i) | Stan Sheriff Center | BYU (29–4)3 | 3–2 | Long Beach State | Lewis and Penn State | |||||||
| 2005 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | Pepperdine (25–2)5 | 3–2 | UCLA | Ohio State and Penn State | |||||||
| 2006 Details | University Park, Pennsylvania[b] (Penn State) | Rec Hall | UCLA (26–12)19 | 3–0 | Penn State | UC Irvine and IPFW | |||||||
| 2007 Details | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) | St. John Arena | UC Irvine (29–5)1 | 3–1 | IPFW | Penn State and Pepperdine | |||||||
| 2008 Details | Irvine, California (UC Irvine) | Bren Events Center | Penn State (30–1)2 | 3–1 | Pepperdine | Long Beach State and Ohio State | |||||||
| 2009 Details | Provo, Utah (BYU) | Smith Fieldhouse | UC Irvine (27–5) | 3–2 | USC (21–11) | Ohio State and Penn State | |||||||
| 2010 Details | Stanford, California (Stanford) | Maples Pavilion | Stanford (24–6)2 | 3–0 | Penn State (24–8) | Cal State Northridge and Ohio State | |||||||
| 2011 Details | University Park, Pennsylvania[b] (Penn State) | Rec Hall | Ohio State (26–6) | 3–2 | UC Santa Barbara (18–15) | Penn State and USC | |||||||
| 2012 Details | Los Angeles (USC) | Galen Center | UC Irvine (26–5)3 | 3–0 | USC (24–6) | Lewis and Penn State | |||||||
| 2013 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | UC Irvine[34] (25–7)4 | 3–0 | BYU (26–5) | Loyola Chicago and Penn State | |||||||
| 2014 Details | Chicago (Loyola Chicago) | Gentile Arena | Loyola Chicago (29–1)1 | 3-1 | Stanford (24–9) | 3rd–BYU and Penn State 5th–Lewis andErskine | |||||||
| 2015 Details | Stanford, California (Stanford) | Maples Pavilion | Loyola Chicago[35] (28–2)2 | 3–2 | Lewis (27–4) | 3rd–UC Irvine and Penn State 5th–Hawai'i andPfeiffer | |||||||
| 2016 Details | University Park, Pennsylvania[b] (Penn State) | Rec Hall | Ohio State (31–2)2 | 3–0 | BYU (27–4) | 3rd–UCLA and Long Beach State 5th–Erskine and George Mason | |||||||
| 2017 Details | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) | St. John Arena | Ohio State (32–2)3 | 3–0 | BYU (26–5) | 3rd–Hawai'i and Long Beach State 5th–Barton and Penn State | |||||||
| 2018 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | Long Beach State (28–1)2 | 3–2 | UCLA (26–8) | 3rd-Ohio St. andBYU 5th-UC Irvine and Harvard | |||||||
| 2019 Details | Long Beach, California (Long Beach State) | Walter Pyramid | Long Beach State (28–2)3 | 3–1 | Hawai'i (28–3) | 3rd-Pepperdine and Lewis 5th-Princeton and USC | |||||||
| 2020 Details | Fairfax, Virginia[d] (George Mason) | EagleBank Arena | Canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||
| 2021 Details | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) | Covelli Center | Hawai'i (17–1)1 | 3–0 | BYU (20–4) | 3rd-Lewis and UC Santa Barbara 5th-Penn State andPepperdine | |||||||
| 2022 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | Hawai'i (27–5)2 | 3–0 | Long Beach State (21–6) | 3rd -UCLA andBall State 5th -Pepperdine andNorth Greenville | |||||||
| 2023 Details | Fairfax, Virginia[d] (George Mason) | EagleBank Arena | UCLA (31–2)20 | 3–1 | Hawai'i (29–3) | 3rd -Penn State andLong Beach State 5th -Grand Canyon andOhio State | |||||||
| 2024 Details | Long Beach, California (Long Beach State) | Walter Pyramid | UCLA (26–5)21 | 3–1 | Long Beach State (27–3) | 3rd - Grand Canyon University and UC Irvine | |||||||
| 2025 Details | Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) | Covelli Center | Long Beach State (30–3)4 | 3–0 | UCLA (22–8) | 3rd - Hawai'i and Pepperdine | |||||||
| 2026 Details | Los Angeles (UCLA) | Pauley Pavilion | |||||||||||
| 2027 Details | Las Vegas[e] (UNLV) | Orleans Arena | |||||||||||
| 2028 Details | Las Vegas[e] (UNLV) | Orleans Arena | |||||||||||
†Vacated due to NCAA violations
|   San Diego State  Stanford  Long Beach State USC UC Irvine  Pepperdine  UCLA | _relief_location_map.svg) Hawaii Penn State Loyola  Ohio State BYU
|
Source:[36]
as of end of2025 Tournament
| Team | App | C | F | 3 | 4 | GP | W | L | Pct | SF | SA | SR | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 0 | 11 | 0.000 | |
| Ball State | 16 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 41 | 11 | 30 | .268 | 38 | 85 | 0.447 | |
| Barton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1 | 6 | 0.167 | |
| Belmont Abbey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 9 | 0.000 | |
| BYU | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 12 | 7 | .632 | 41 | 28 | 1.464 | First champion in first appearance. |
| Cal State Northridge | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 3 | 6 | 0.500 | |
| Daemen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | |
| Erskine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 | |
| Fort Valley State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 | |
| George Mason | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 8 | 15 | 0.533 | |
| Grand Canyon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | |
| Harvard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 3 | 0.333 | |
| Hawai'i | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 38 | 33 | 1.152 | Two consecutive champion, 2002 win and record were vacated. |
| IPFW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 8 | .200 | 12 | 26 | 0.461 | NowPurdue University Fort Wayne. After IPFW was dissolved in 2018, the athletic program was inherited by Purdue Fort Wayne. |
| King | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 | |
| Lewis | 8 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 8 | .273 | 17 | 26 | 0.654 | 2003 win and record were vacated. |
| Long Beach State | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 24 | 12 | .667 | 74 | 51 | 1.451 | Two consecutive champion |
| Loyola Chicago | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 16 | 11 | 1.455 | Two consecutive champion |
| North Greenville | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | |
| Ohio State | 23 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 42 | 17 | 25 | .405 | 63 | 84 | 0.750 | Two consecutive champion |
| Penn State | 35 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 2 | 55 | 20 | 35 | .364 | 81 | 122 | 0.664 | |
| Pepperdine | 19 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 19 | 14 | .576 | 67 | 58 | 1.155 | |
| Pfeiffer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | |
| Princeton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 5 | 10 | 0.500 | |
| Rutgers-Newark | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 9 | .100 | 4 | 28 | 0.143 | |
| San Diego State | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 20 | 12 | 1.667 | |
| Springfield | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 9 | .000 | 1 | 22 | 0.045 | |
| Stanford | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 3 | .727 | 26 | 16 | 1.625 | |
| UC Irvine | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 4 | .692 | 33 | 17 | 1.941 | Two consecutive champion |
| UCLA | 31 | 21 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 72 | 62 | 10 | .861 | 193 | 60 | 3.217 | First champion, four consecutive champion, three consecutive champion (twice), two consecutive champion (twice) |
| UCSB | 8 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 11 | 14 | .440 | 39 | 38 | 1.026 | |
| USC | 15 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 17 | 11 | .607 | 63 | 44 | 1.432 | |
| Yale | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 |
31 teams have appeared in the NCAA tournament in at least one year starting with 1970, when the tournament shifted to its current bracket format. The results for all years are shown in this table below.[36]
The code in each cell represents how far the team made it in the respective tournament:
| School | Conference | # | SF | CG | CH | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | MPSF | 31 | 31 | 29 | 21 | CH | CH | CH | CH | CH | CH | RU | CH | RU | CH | CH | CH | CH | CH | CH | CH | RU | CH | CH | RU | CH | CH | RU | RU | CH | SF | RU | SF | CH | CH | RU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | MPSF | 19 | 17 | 11 | 5 | RU | SF | CH | RU | RU | CH | CH | CH | RU | SF | RU | SF | CH | SF | RU | SF | QF | QF | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | MPSF | 15 | 14 | 12 | 4 | CH | RU | CH | RU | SF | RU | RU | RU | CH | CH | RU | RU | SF | RU | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | Big West | 15 | 15 | 11 | 4 | RU | RU | RU | CH | RU | RU | SF | SF | SF | CH | CH | RU | SF | RU | CH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | Big West | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | SF | CH | CH | CH | CH | SF | QF | SF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BYU | MPSF | 10 | 10 | 8 | 3 | CH | CH | RU | CH | RU | SF | RU | RU | SF | RU | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | MIVA | 23 | 21 | 5 | 3 | SF | SF | RU | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | RU | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | CH | CH | CH | SF | QF | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | EIVA | 35 | 31 | 6 | 2 | SF | RU | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | CH | RU | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | RU | SF | CH | SF | RU | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | QF | QF | SF | QF | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii | Big West | 9 | 8 | 5 | 2 | SF | RU | QF | SF | RU | CH | CH | RU | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | MPSF | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | RU | RU | CH | CH | RU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loyola Chicago | MIVA | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | SF | CH | CH | QF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego State | defunct | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | RU | CH | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Santa Barbara | Big West | 8 | 8 | 5 | - | SF | RU | SF | RU | RU | RU | RU | SF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lewis | MIVA | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | SF | SF | SF | SF | QF | RU | SF | SF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue Fort Wayne | MIVA | 6 | 6 | 1 | - | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | RU | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | Big West | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | RU | SF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ball State | MIVA | 16 | 16 | - | - | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers–Newark | D3 | 5 | 5 | - | - | SF | SF | SF | SF | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| George Mason | EIVA | 4 | 3 | - | - | SF | SF | SF | QF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Springfield | D3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | SF | SF | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Princeton | EIVA | 3 | 1 | - | - | SF | QF | • | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Canyon | defunct | 2 | 1 | - | - | QF | SF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Army | defunct | 1 | 1 | - | - | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yale | defunct | 1 | 1 | - | - | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Belmont Abbey | Carolinas | 3 | - | - | - | • | QF | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Erskine | Carolinas | 2 | - | - | - | QF | QF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barton | Carolinas | 2 | - | - | - | QF | • | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| King | Carolinas | 2 | - | - | - | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fort Valley State | SIAC | 2 | - | - | - | QF | QF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pfeiffer | defunct | 1 | - | - | - | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harvard | EIVA | 1 | - | - | - | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Greenville | Carolinas | 1 | - | - | - | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daemen | NEC | 1 | - | - | - | • |
Historically,California-based universities have dominated the men's volleyball national championship;Loyola Chicago,Penn State, Ohio State,BYU, and Hawaii are the only non-California universities to have won the National Collegiate championship;Lewis also won the championship tournament, but had their victory vacated due to NCAA rules violations. Only seven non-California universities have participated in the National Collegiate championship match (Loyola, BYU, Penn State, Ohio State,IPFW, Hawaii, andLewis), although other universities such asPrinceton andBall State have participated in the final four. Only five finals have involved two non-California schools: the 2003 final, when Lewis defeated BYU but had its win vacated; the 2015 final, in which Loyola defeated Lewis; the 2016 and 2017 finals, when Ohio State defeated BYU; and the 2021 final, when Hawaii defeated BYU.
Hawaii, UCLA, Southern California, Penn State, Stanford, and Long Beach State are the only schools in Division I to have won an NCAA national championship in both men and women's volleyball. In addition, Stanford (1996–97) and Penn State (2007–08) are the only universities whose men and women's volleyball programs won the national championship in the same academic year.
| Semifinals Thursday, May 5, 2011 Rec Hall,University Park, Pennsylvania | National Championship Saturday, May 7, 2011 Rec Hall,University Park, Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Southern California (1) | 27 | 26 | 15 | 18 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UC Santa Barbara (3) | 29 | 24 | 25 | 25 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UC Santa Barbara (2) | 25 | 20 | 19 | 25 | 9 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Ohio State (3) | 20 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 15 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Penn State (1) | 18 | 26 | 22 | 23 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ohio State (3) | 25 | 24 | 25 | 25 | ||||||||||||
| Semifinals Thursday, May 3, 2012 Galen Center, Los Angeles,CA | National Championship Saturday, May 5, 2012 Galen Center, Los Angeles,CA | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | UC Irvine (3) | 18 | 25 | 25 | 25 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Penn State (1) | 25 | 18 | 15 | 19 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | UC Irvine (3) | 25 | 34 | 26 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Southern California (0) | 22 | 32 | 24 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Southern California (3) | 25 | 25 | 18 | 27 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Lewis (1) | 18 | 12 | 25 | 25 | ||||||||||||
| Semifinals Thursday, May 2, 2013 Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles | National Championship Saturday, May 4, 2013 Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Brigham Young (3) | 25 | 25 | 25 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Penn State (0) | 21 | 16 | 22 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Brigham Young (0) | 23 | 22 | 24 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | UC Irvine (3) | 25 | 25 | 26 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | UC Irvine (3) | 26 | 25 | 29 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Loyola University Chicago (0) | 24 | 18 | 27 | |||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals Tuesday, April 29, 2014 Gentile Arena,Chicago | Semifinals Thursday, May 1, 2014 Gentile Arena,Chicago | Championship Saturday, May 3, 2014 Gentile Arena,Chicago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Loyola (Chicago)(3) | 25 | 22 | 25 | 18 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Lewis (1) | 25 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 5 | Penn State (2) | 20 | 25 | 21 | 25 | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Penn State(3) | 27 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 1 | Loyola (Chicago)(3) | 25 | 19 | 25 | 25 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | Stanford (1) | 17 | 25 | 19 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | BYU (2) | 18 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Stanford(3) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 | Stanford(3) | 25 | 21 | 22 | 29 | 15 | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Erskine (0) | 14 | 16 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Maples Pavilion,Stanford, California | Semifinals Thursday, May 7, 2015 Maples Pavilion,Stanford, California | Championship Saturday, May 9, 2015 Maples Pavilion,Stanford, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Lewis(3) | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Hawai'i (1) | 22 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 5 | Penn State (1) | 20 | 25 | 16 | 20 | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Penn State(3) | 25 | 25 | 17 | 27 | 1 | Lewis (2) | 25 | 23 | 15 | 27 | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Loyola (Chicago)(3) | 21 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UC Irvine (0) | 22 | 19 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Loyola (Chicago)(3) | 25 | 33 | 25 | 3 | Loyola (Chicago)(3) | 25 | 25 | 25 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Pfeiffer (0) | 20 | 31 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | Network | Location | Play-by-play announcer | Color analyst(s) | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | ABC | Irving Gymnasium (Muncie, Indiana) | Bill Flemming | Keith Erickson | |
| 1973 | ABC | Peterson Gymnasium (San Diego, California) | Keith Jackson | Al Scates | |
| 1974 | ABC | Robertson Gymnasium (Santa Barbara, California) | Frank Gifford | Don Shondell | |
| 1975 | ABC | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | |||
| 1976 | ABC | Irving Gymnasium (Muncie, Indiana) | |||
| 1977 | ABC | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Bob Beattie | Al Scates | |
| 1978 | ABC | St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio) | Bruce Jenner | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1979 | ABC | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Bill Fleming | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1980 | ABC | Irving Gymnasium (Muncie, Indiana) | Steve Zabriskie | Diana Nyad | |
| 1981 | ABC | UCSB Events Center (Santa Barbara, California) | |||
| 1982 | CBS | Rec Hall (University Park, Pennsylvania) | John Tesh | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1983 | CBS | St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio) | Gary Bender | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1984 | CBS | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | John Tesh | Chris Marlowe | Cathy Lee Crosby |
| 1985 | CBS | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | John Tesh | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1986 | CBS | Rec Hall (University Park, Pennsylvania) | John Tesh | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1987 | CBS | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Tim Ryan | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1988 | CBS | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (Fort Wayne, Indiana) | Ken Squier | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1989 | CBS | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Chris Marlowe | ||
| 1990 | CBS | Patriot Center (Fairfax, Virginia) | John Tesh | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1991 | CBS | Neal S. Blaisdell Center (Honolulu, Hawai'i) | Verne Lundquist | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1992 | CBS | John E. Worthen Arena (Muncie, Indiana) | Chris Marlowe | Ron Squire | |
| 1993 | CBS | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Tim Ryan | Chris Marlowe | |
| 1994 | CBS | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (Fort Wayne, Indiana) | Chris Marlowe | Ann Meyers | |
| 1995 | ESPN2 | Springfield Civic Center (Springfield, Massachusetts) | Chris Marlowe | Paul Sunderland | |
| 1996 | ESPN2 | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 1997 | ESPN2 | St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 1998 | ESPN2 | Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu, Hawai'i) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 1999 | ESPN2 | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 2000 | ESPN2 | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (Fort Wayne, Indiana) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 2001 | ESPN2 | Walter Pyramid (Long Beach, California) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 2002 | ESPN2 | Rec Hall (University Park, Pennsylvania) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 2003 | ESPN2 | Walter Pyramid (Long Beach, California) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 2004 | ESPN2 | Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu, Hawai'i) | Chris Marlowe | Heather Cox | |
| 2005 | ESPN2 | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Beth Mowins | Heather Cox | |
| 2006 | ESPN2 | Rec Hall (University Park, Pennsylvania) | Beth Mowins | Heather Cox | |
| 2007 | ESPN2 | St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio) | Beth Mowins | Karch Kiraly | |
| 2008 | ESPN2 | Bren Events Center (Irvine, California) | Beth Mowins | Karch Kiraly | |
| 2009 | ESPN2 | Smith Fieldhouse (Provo, Utah) | Beth Mowins | Karch Kiraly | |
| 2010 | ESPN2 | Maples Pavilion (Stanford, California) | Justin Kutcher | Karch Kiraly | |
| 2011 | ESPN2 | Rec Hall (University Park, Pennsylvania) | Justin Kutcher | Karch Kiraly | |
| 2012 | ESPNU | Galen Center (Los Angeles, California) | Justin Kutcher | Karch Kiraly | |
| 2013 | ESPNU | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Adam Amin | Karch Kiraly | |
| 2014 | ESPNU | Gentile Arena (Chicago, Illinois) | Sam Gore | Dain Blanton | |
| 2015 | ESPNU | Maples Pavilion (Stanford, California) | Paul Sunderland | Dain Blanton | |
| 2016 | ESPN2 | Rec Hall (University Park, Pennsylvania) | Paul Sunderland | Kevin Barnett | |
| 2017 | ESPN2 | St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio) | Paul Sunderland | Kevin Barnett | |
| 2018 | ESPN2 | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Paul Sunderland | Kevin Barnett | |
| 2019 | ESPN2 | Walter Pyramid (Long Beach, California) | Paul Sunderland | Kevin Barnett | |
| 2020 | Not held because of theCOVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | ESPNU | Covelli Center (Columbus, Ohio) | Paul Sunderland | Kevin Barnett | |
| 2022 | ESPN2 | Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California) | Paul Sunderland | Kevin Barnett | |
| 2023 | ESPN ESPN3 (SAP) | EagleBank Arena (Fairfax, Virginia) | Paul Sunderland Rigoberto Plascencia | Kevin Barnett Alex Pombo | |
| 2024 | ESPN ESPN+ (SAP) | Walter Pyramid (Long Beach, California) | Paul Sunderland Rigoberto Plascencia | Kevin Barnett Alex Pombo | |
| 2025 | ESPN2 ESPN+ (SAP) | Covelli Center (Columbus, Ohio) | Paul Sunderland Cristina Millán | Kevin Barnett Paulina García Robles | |
| NCAA | | |
|---|---|---|
| Division I |
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| Division II |
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| Division III |
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| Single-division or National Collegiate sports and championships |
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| Litigation | ||
| Related topics | ||
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