2010 USA NCAA Division I

    Murina has done an excellent job of defining the NCAA Division I system.


    With the NCAA tournament, it is similar to the basketball tournament that the NCAA. Each conference has its champion guaranteed entry into the tournament. So 31 teams are automatic bids and the remaining 33 teams are "at-large" bids. These other 33 teams are selected on the following criteria: won-loss record in matches, strength of schedule, strength of conference and strength of opponents' schedules.


    Very strong conferences get many teams into the tournament, while weak conferences only get 1 team in the tournament.


    The Big Ten had 8 teams, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conference had 6, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference had 5 teams.


    Teams are seeded by a combination of the criteria listed above in addition to a region. However, teams are shifted to different regions in selecting the "at-large" teams. It is mainly to keep the strongest teams away from each other until the semifinals or finals. A team with a perfect record would be a 1 seed, while a team with a win-loss percentage of under .500 (1 win-1 loss) would be a very low seed.


    First and second round matches are played at 16 different sites. The third and fourth rounds are played at 4 different sites. The semifinals (5th) and finals (6th) are at one site, Final Four.

    Thanks, Murina. I don't know if these questions are still relevant to you, but anyway...


    Does USAV have any power on requiring pro athlete participation in National Team? In some countries, the National Federation have the ability to compel players to play for the national team, else, the athletes cannot play club. As far as I know, USAV does not compel athletes this way. But could they?


    USA National team members earn a salary when they play for the national team. Is the salary the same for everyone on the team? In other countries, the salary is different for star players. Also, would you know if the prize money won in tournaments goes to the team and players or to USAV?


    Why are there so many more women's volleyball college programs than mens? Is it because of competing sports like basketball and football?


    Thank you.


    USAV does not require pro athlete participation. You are free to play or not play on the national team. The coach is the one making the decisions about who should be on the team. USAV does not have a policy of this player needs to be put on the squad to sell tickets for matches. Most of our matches are played outside of the states.


    I would guess that the salary would be the same for everyone on the team, excluding those that win individual awards at FIVB events. I know that they do have player agreements which would state the players would receive a certain percentage of the award won for the entire team. These agreements are uniform and are not modified. USAV utilizes the money won at FIVB events to help run the organization.


    The reasoning for more women's teams than mens teams is that there is a US government law called Title IX ("nine"). This states that mens and womens athletics must be equal in nature. So if you have 70 male athletes, you must have enough sports for 70 women athletes to play. Hence the growth of soccer and volleyball for women in this country. This is even true at the high school level. However, women's athletics usually a money loser when compared to the entire athletic budget.


    Men's volleyball has always been popular in southern California and the Midwest. There are only 22 teams on the men's side, while there were 317 teams for women in Division I in 2009 according to the NCAA.