Beach volleyball as an NCAA sport? That idea is gaining momentum by the moment.
At a meeting among 31 Division I representatives earlier this month, a measure that would make beach volleyball — or sand volleyball as the NCAA dubs it — a sanctioned sport fell just short of reaching the two-thirds majority vote needed for approval.
Beach volleyball is far from being a niche sport whose appeal is limited to sunny Southern California. Its popularity at recent Olympics will attest to that.
Prominent beach volleyball players such as Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh got their start as indoor players before making the transition into beach volleyball. In fact, it can be argued that beach volleyball is even more difficult to play than its indoor counterpart.
Maneuvering around the sand is no easy task, especially when a regulation game only allows two players to a side, meaning that every player on the sand must be ready to be part of every rally.
Because of this, beach volleyball players are expected to hone their entire skill set (passing, setting, spiking, defense, etc.).
Of course, the sport has its detractors who dismiss it as nothing but a glorified T and A showcase, which is one of the arguments against making it an NCAA sport. Overprotective fathers would cringe at the thought of their scantily clad daughters receiving stares from male classmates who’ve had too much to drink.
Because of the potential outcry, you can’t blame NCAA officials for not wanting to profit off the bodies of female college students, but fortunately, they don’t have to.
Some colleges have already sent their women’s players to participate in tournaments during the spring, with the athletes wearing the same spandex shorts seen in the indoor game; compact for maneuverability, but more than enough to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions.
With 992 out of 1,064 NCAA member schools fielding women’s volleyball programs, the talent pool is high enough to warrant the sport’s sand reincarnation to be played in spring semesters. And as the only school in Division I that bears the word “Beach” in its name, who’s to say it isn’t Long Beach State’s birthright to rake in the national championship hardware in this sport?
Penn State and Nebraska may be the two premier women’s indoor volleyball programs at the moment, but you’d be hard-pressed to find suitable training locales in University Park, Pa. or Lincoln, Neb.
And with the ongoing speculation that May-Treanor, a Beach alum and arguably the best women’s beach volleyball player, could assume a coaching position at LBSU sometime in the future, luring top recruits away from those powerhouses might not be a problem.
The 49ers’ own outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux, the reigning Big West Conference Freshman of the Year, has experienced playing on sand while participating in a beach volleyball tournament in the Netherlands this past summer. If there are enough athletes who want to participate in spring volleyball to keep them occupied until indoor season starts, why deny them that opportunity?
Despite failing to meet passage in the initial vote, the measure will be put to a straight majority second vote again in April. If passed, women’s beach volleyball could become a sanctioned sport as early as spring 2011.
Reports indicate that the measure has a strong chance of passing.
Get it done, NCAA.