Illinois Men's Volleyball Club
| Illinois Men's Volleyball Club | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1984 |
| University | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Location | Champaign, Illinois |
| Nickname | Fighting Illini |
| Colors | Orange and Blue |
| Conference tournament champion | |
| 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 | |
The Illinois Men's Volleyball Club is a registered student organization at the University of Illinois that plays men's volleyball. The team is designated as a club team because the University does not have a varsity men's volleyball team.
Organization
The Illinois Men's Volleyball Club consists of three teams of varying competitiveness and time commitment. The first team, named the 1s Team, is considered to be the best team and competes in Division I of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and generally participates in about 12 tournaments a year, including the national tournament. The 2s Team, considered the second-best team, competes in Division III of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and participates in about eight tournaments a year. The last team, named the 3s Team, competes in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball Association and travelled to the National Tournament for the first time ever in 2017.[1] All three teams travel to the national championships hosted by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. This tournament hosts only club teams from within the United States and no NCAA varsity men's volleyball teams. The Blue and Orange teams generally practice three times a week while the White team practices twice a week.
The tryouts for all teams are in September and generally last two or three days. The season for all three teams lasts throughout the school year with nationals being held in April. On average, 80 students try out for the club and tryouts are open to any University of Illinois male student. Each team consists of about 15 players. Students may also attempt to join the team at other times throughout the year by attending several practices that are viewed as their tryout. The Illinois Men's Volleyball Club is organized and operated by player-elected officers that are chosen at the end of each season. The current officer positions are President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.[2]
The club does not have coaches, instead each team is led by a player-captain selected by their peers. The club is supported by member dues, University RSO funding, as well as fundraising events such as a T-shirt sale.[2] The designation as an RSO not only allows the club to receive university funds, but also use university buildings for practice, and be officially associated with the university.[3]
Past standings and results
The Illinois Men's Volleyball Club has placed in the top ten nationally since 1999. They have also won the Big Ten Conference ten times and have five Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association championships. The Big Ten Conference in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association consists of the University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, the University of Iowa, Michigan State University, Purdue University, Indiana University, the University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This conference is not associated with the Big Ten Conference present in NCAA athletics[4] The club competes in a Big Ten Conference championship tournament as well as the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament and the national tournament at the end of the season. The Illinois Men's Volleyball Club Blue team also had two players named to the First Team All-Tournament team in 2007 and has had at least one player on the First Team All-Tournament team since 2003.[5] The table below displays the results of the National-Intramural Recreational Sports Association/National Club Volleyball Federation tournament and the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament.
| Year | National Results[5] | Conference Results[4] |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 49th | - |
| 1998 | 3rd | - |
| 1999 | 5th | 2nd |
| 2000 | 5th | - |
| 2001 | 3rd | - |
| 2002 | 29th | - |
| 2003 | 5th | 3rd |
| 2004 | 2nd-National Runner Up | 1st |
| 2005 | 3rd-Final 4 | 2nd |
| 2006 | 3rd-Final 4 | 1st |
| 2007 | 3rd-Final 4 | 1st |
| 2008 | 2nd-National Runner Up | 1st |
| 2009 | 3rd-Final 4 | 1st |
| 2010 | 5th-Elite 8 | 1st |
| 2011 | 5th-Elite 8 | 1st |
| 2012 | 3rd-Final 4 | 1st |
| 2013 | 5th-Elite 8 | 1st |
| 2014 | 9th-Quarter-finals | 3rd |
| 2015 | 9th-Quarter-finals | 5th |
| 2016 | 25th | 1st |
| 2017 | 5th | 3rd |
| 2018 | 25th | 2nd |
| 2019 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2022 | 1st | |
| 2023 | 2nd | 1st |
References
- ^ Chinander, Mike. "Midwest Collegiate Volleyball Association". Retrieved March 4, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Lunardiniwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Registered Student Organizations". Retrieved March 4, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ a b "Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association". Retrieved March 10, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ a b "National-Intramural Recreational Sports Association". Retrieved March 4, 2008.[dead link]