DIII Review

DIII is the largest of the five divisions of men’s college Volleyball. With 70 teams active and six more slated to join the fray in 2016, the DIII total of 76 teams is 47% – nearly half – of the 163 US men’s college Volleyball programs in existence. DIII clearly dominates size-wise in relation to the other five divisions of men’s college Volleyball. 

• DIII Volleyball has 3.45 times more teams than NCAA DI Volleyball (76/22).
• DIII Volleyball has 3.17 times more teams than NCAA DII Volleyball (76/24).
• DIII Volleyball has 2.92 times more teams than NAIA Volleyball (76/26).
• DIII Volleyball has 5.06 times more programs than CCCCAA Volleyball (76/15).

With eight viable conferences, an eight team national championship tournament, and two play-in matches to the national tournament, DIII clearly has the makings and elements of Volleyball magnificence.  Let’s discuss the DIII national championship tournament first and then look at the 76 teams of DIII men’s Volleyball.

THE TOURNAMENT

The 2015 DIII national championship tournament will be held on Thursday April 24 through Saturday April 26 at the Canavan Arena on the Stevens Institute of Technology campus in Hoboken, New Jersey.  The tournament will consist of both automatic bids and at-large bids.  In the past eight team have advanced to the national championship tournament while two other teams have been afforded the chance to earn a berth in the tournament through play-in matches.  Springfield College, under Coach Charlie Sullivan, has won all three of the DIII national championship tournaments and is the reigning DIII national Champion.

THE TEAMS

Independents.

• Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
• Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts.
• UC – Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California.
• Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

CUNYAC, City University of New York Athletic Conference, all in NYC.

• Baruch College
• Brooklyn College
• City College of New York
• Hunter College
• John Jay College
• Lehman College
• Medgar Evers College
• York College

CVC, Continental Volleyball Conference.

• Cairn University in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
• Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
• Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
• Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.
• Rutgers University – Newark in Newark, New Jersey.
• Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland.
• Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania.

GNAC, Great Northeast Athletic Conference.

• Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut.
• Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts.
• Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.
• Lasell College in Auburndale, Massachusetts.
• Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts.
• Rivier University in Nashua, New Hampshire.
• Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts.

MCVL, Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League

• Adrian College (2015 – 2016) in Adrian Michigan.
• Benedictine University in Chicago, Illinois.
• Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
• Dominican University in Chicago, Illinois.
• Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri.
• Greenville College (2015 – 2026) in Greenville, Illinois.
• Lakeland College in Mattoon, Illinois.
• Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.
• Marian University (2015 – 2016) in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
• Milwaukee School of Engineering in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• North Central College (2015 – 2016) in Naperville, Illinois.
• Olivet College (2015 – 2016) in Olivet, Michigan.
• Wittenberg University (2015 – 2016) in Springfield, Ohio.

NEAC, North Eastern Athletic Conference

• D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York.
• Hilbert College in Hamburg, New York.
• Keuka College in Keuka Park, New York.
• Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
• Medaille College in Buffalo, New York.
• Penn State University – Altoona in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
• State University of New York – Polytechnic Institute in Utica, New York.
• Wells College in Aurora, New York.
• Wilson College (2015 – 2016) in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

NECC, New England Collegiate Conference

• Daniel Webster College in Nashua, New Hampshire.
• Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts.
• Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts.
• Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Newbury College in Brookline, Massachusetts.
• Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts.
• Southern Vermont College in Bennington, Vermont.

Skyline Conference.

• College of Mt. St. Vincent, New York, New York.
• Kean University in Union, New Jersey.
• New Jersey City University in Jersey City, New Jersey.
• Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey.
• Sage College in Albany, New York.
• Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York.
• Joseph’s College (Brooklyn) (2015 – 2016) in New York, New York.
• State University of New York – Purchase in Purchase, New York.
• Yeshiva University, New York, New York.

UVC, United Volleyball Conference.

• Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
• Elmira College in Elmira, New York.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Nazareth College in Rochester, New York.
• New York University (NYU) in New York, New York.
• Penn State University – Behrend in Erie, Pennsylvania.
• Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
• State University of New York – New Paltz in New Paltz, New York.
• Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York