Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League

{{Infobox sports league

| name = Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League

| founded = March 13, 2014

| association = NCAA

| division = Division III

| teams = 9 (10 in 2025)

| sports = Men's volleyball

| region = Midwest

| headquarters = Cedar Rapids, Iowa

| commissioner = Chuck Yrigoyen

| since = 2016

| website = [https://www.mcvl.org/ MCVL.org]

}}

The Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) is an intercollegiate men's volleyball conference associated with the NCAA's Division III.

History

The MCVL was founded in March 2014 by an amicable split of the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC), which itself had only been created in 2011. The CVC's six Midwestern schools, which had previously formed a CVC division, wished to create a more geographically compact league. The two groups agreed that the CVC's eastern teams would retain the CVC name and branding.{{cite press release|url=http://emuroyals.com/sports/mvball/2013-14/releases/20140313me0cvw |title=CVC Announces Split As Teams Continue To Join |publisher=Eastern Mennonite Royals |date=March 13, 2014 |accessdate=September 11, 2014}} Since the CVC retained six members, that group also retained its automatic berth in the Division III national championship.{{cite press release|url=http://www.greenville.edu/athletics/news/detail.html?id=f32a6232-878f-4b5d-af85-5c35acbd95a9&title=greenville-college-to-add-men-s-volleyball-as-15th-intercollegiate-sport |title=Greenville College to Add Men's Volleyball as 15th Intercollegiate Sport |publisher=Greenville College Athletics |date=August 27, 2014 |accessdate=September 11, 2014}} It was also agreed that two Midwestern schools that were adding the sport for 2014–15 (2015 season) and had been announced as incoming CVC members, Benedictine University and Loras College, would instead join the new Midwestern league. The next month, the new league was unveiled as the MCVL.{{cite press release|url=http://www.go-raiders.com/sports/mvball/2013-14/releases/20140404miymi1 |title=Raiders' New Conference Has A Name |publisher=MSOE Athletics |date=April 4, 2014 |accessdate=September 11, 2014}}

In September 2014, two Illinois schools that were adding volleyball in the 2015–16 school year (2016 season), Greenville College (now Greenville University) and North Central College, were accepted as the league's 9th and 10th members.{{cite press release|url=http://www.mcvl.org/sports/mvball/2014-15/releases/9_23_new_members |title=North Central & Greenville Set to Join MCVL in 2016 Season |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=September 23, 2014 |accessdate=September 28, 2014}} Three months later, four additional schools—Adrian College, Marian University of Wisconsin, Olivet College, and Wittenberg University—were announced as new members for 2015–16.{{cite press release|url=http://www.mcvl.org/sports/mvball/2014-15/releases/12_10_mcvl_expansion |title=MCVL Announces Expansion to 14 Teams for 2016 Season |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=December 10, 2014 |accessdate=December 15, 2014}}

The MCVL was not eligible for an automatic berth in the Division III national championship in its first two seasons (2015 and 2016); during that time, its teams were eligible for at-large berths.

In January 2017, the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), the all-sports home of five MCVL members—charter members Benedictine, Dominican University of Illinois, Lakeland College of Wisconsin (now Lakeland University) and the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), plus 2015 arrival Marian—announced that it would begin sponsoring men's volleyball in the 2018 season. This followed previous announcements that NACC members Aurora University and Concordia University Wisconsin would launch varsity men's volleyball in that season, giving the NACC seven men's volleyball schools and an automatic berth in the Division III national championship.{{cite press release|url=http://naccsports.org/sports/mvball/2016-17/releases/20170110gj604y |title= NACC To Add Men's Volleyball In 2018 |publisher=Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference |date=January 10, 2017 |accessdate=June 18, 2017}} As a result, the MCVL initially dropped to nine members for the 2018 season. Before that season, the MCVL returned to 10 members with the addition of Augustana College of Illinois, which was set to begin sponsoring varsity men's volleyball in the 2018 season. Augustana had intended to begin varsity play as an independent with a view toward eventually gaining MCVL membership,{{cite press release|url=http://www.athletics.augustana.edu/news/2016/4/18/general-mens-volleyball-and-womens-bowling-join-the-varsity-sports-lineup-for-2017-18.aspx |title=Men's Volleyball and Women's Bowling Join the Varsity Sports Lineup for 2017–18 |publisher=Augustana College Athletics |date=April 18, 2016 |accessdate=December 11, 2017}} but was immediately accepted into the league.{{cite press release|url=http://www.mcvl.org/sports/mvball/2017-18/releases/20171211n58ffo |title=Carthage Picked as MCVL Favorite |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=December 11, 2017 |accessdate=December 12, 2017}} Although the MCVL made no official announcement that Augustana would join, it included that school in its 2018 schedule.

After the 2018 season, the MCVL lost one member and gained another. Wittenberg left to become a single-sport affiliate in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference,{{cite press release|url=http://amccsports.org/sports/mvball/2016-17/releases/Affiliate_Membership |title=Hiram, Thiel and Wittenberg to Join AMCC in Men's Volleyball |publisher=Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference |date=May 31, 2017 |accessdate=February 17, 2018}} while Trine University resurrected a varsity program that last played in 2002 and joined the MCVL.{{cite press release|url=http://www.trinethunder.com/sports/mvball/2017-18/releases/20171003oq2dv1 |title=Trine Men's Volleyball Team to Compete in MCVL |publisher=Trine Thunder |date=October 4, 2017 |accessdate=February 17, 2018}}

The MCVL lost half of its 2019 membership when the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) added men's volleyball for the 2020 season. Augustana, Carthage, Greenville, Loras, and North Central, along with new programs at North Park and Millikin, began CCIW conference play in 2020. Greenville and Loras were accepted into the CCIW as associate members. {{Cite web|url=https://cciw.org/news/2018/12/12/general-cciw-announces-the-addition-of-mens-volleyball-greenville-and-loras-added-as-associate-members.aspx|title = CCIW announces the addition of men's volleyball; Greenville and Loras added as associate members}} This temporarily left the MCVL in danger of eventually losing its automatic bid to the NCAA championship, but the league restored its membership to the six needed to maintain its automatic bid by adding the University of Mount Union, which had spent its inaugural men's volleyball season of 2019 as an independent, for the 2020 season.{{cite press release|url=http://athletics.mountunion.edu/sports/mvball/2019-20/releases/20190711edsgqg |title=Men's Volleyball: Mount Union To Join MCVL |publisher=Mount Union Purple Raiders |date=July 11, 2019 |accessdate=August 28, 2019}}

Three schools became members in advance of the 2021 season. Wittenberg returned to the MCVL after a two-year absence,{{cite press release|url=https://mcvl.org/sports/mvball/2019-20/releases/20200124iy0ukj |title=Wittenberg Back to the MCVL in 2021 |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=January 24, 2020 |accessdate=February 18, 2020}} and the league added the new varsity programs of Baldwin Wallace University{{cite press release|url=https://mcvl.org/sports/mvball/2019-20/releases/20200121ilq2f5 |title=MCVL Welcomes Baldwin-Wallace in 2021 |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=January 21, 2020 |accessdate=February 18, 2020}} and Wabash College.{{cite press release|url=https://mcvl.org/sports/mvball/2019-20/releases/Wabash_Tabs_Russell-_Joins_MCVL_for_2020-21_Season |title=Wabash Tabs Russell, Joins MCVL for 2020-21 Season |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=September 16, 2019 |accessdate=February 18, 2020}}

The league's most recent expansion took place after the 2023 season with the arrival of Calvin University, which started a new varsity men's volleyball program. When the MCVL announced Calvin's arrival, it announced a two-year moratorium on the addition of any further members.{{cite press release|url=https://mcvl.org/sports/mvball/2022-23/releases/20230404k9xzmp |title=Calvin University to Become MCVL's Tenth Member in 2024 |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=April 5, 2023 |access-date=April 19, 2023}} Fontbonne announced in March 2024 that it would close after the 2024–25 school year,{{cite press release |url=https://www.fontbonne.edu/fontbonne-university-to-close-after-summer-2025/ |title=Fontbonne University to Close After Summer 2025 |publisher=Fontbonne University |date=March 11, 2024 |access-date=April 23, 2024}} and later announced it would not field a men's volleyball team in the 2025 season.{{cite press release |url=https://sliac.org/news/2024/6/11/general-fontbonne-announces-athletics-plan.aspx |title=Fontbonne Announces Athletics Plan |publisher=St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletics Conference |date=June 11, 2024 |access-date=October 3, 2024}} With the departure of Fontbonne, and the moratorium on new members set to expire after the 2025 season, the MCVL announced that Spalding University would join the conference for the school's first season of varsity men's volleyball in 2026.{{cite press release |url=https://mcvl.org/general/2024-25/releases/20240920fuvt67 |title=MCVL Welcomes Spalding University as New Member for 2026 |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=September 20, 2024 |access-date=October 3, 2024}}

Current members

The league was founded with eight members. Six joined for the 2016 season, five left after the 2017 season, and one joined for the 2018 season. The 2019 season saw the conference membership remain at 10, with one departing member replaced by a new school. After the 2019 season five teams left and Mount Union was added, dropping the league to six members for the 2020 season. The league returned to nine members for the 2021 season with the return of Wittenberg and the addition of new programs at Baldwin Wallace and Wabash, and returned to 10 for the 2024 season with the addition of another new program at Calvin. The impending closure of Fontbonne dropped the membership to nine members for 2025, and the addition of Spalding will again return the membership to 10 in 2026. All current, former, and future conference members are private institutions.

The conference formed Eastern and Western Divisions for the 2017 season,{{cite press release|url=http://www.mcvl.org/sports/mvball/2016-17/releases/20161215osbrdg |title=MCVL Announces Divisions for 2017 Season |publisher=Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League |date=December 15, 2016 |accessdate=January 9, 2017}} but reverted to a single-table format following the departure of the five NACC members.

Note that because NCAA men's volleyball is a spring sport, the year of joining is the calendar year before the first year of competition, and the year of departure for former members coincides with the final season of MCVL competition.

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

!Institution

!Location

!Founded

!Joined

!Affiliation

!Enrollment

!Nickname

!Primary
conference

Adrian College

| Adrian, Michigan

| 1859

| 2015

| United Methodist Church

| 1,654

| Bulldogs

| MIAA

Baldwin Wallace University

| Berea, Ohio

| 1845

| 2020

| Non-sectarian

| 4,177

| Yellow Jackets

| OAC

Calvin University

| Grand Rapids, Michigan

| 1876

| 2023

| Christian Reformed

| 3,746

| Knights

| MIAA

Mount St. Joseph University

| Delhi Township, Ohio{{efn|group=current|Mailing address is Cincinnati.}}

| 1920

| 2014

| Catholic – Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati

| 2,225

| Lions

| HCAC

| Alliance, Ohio

| 1846

| 2019

| 2,309

| OAC

| 1844

| 2015

| United Church of Christ and National Association of Congregational Christian Churches

| 1,145

| Comets

| MIAA

Trine University

| Angola, Indiana

| 1884

| 2018

| Non-sectarian

| 2,000

| Thunder

| MIAA

Wabash College

| Crawfordsville, Indiana

| 1884

| 2020

| Non-sectarian

| 882

| Little Giants

| NCAC

Wittenberg University

| Springfield, Ohio

| 1845

| 2015, 2020{{efn|group=current|Wittenberg first joined in 2015, left in 2018, and returned in 2020.}}

| Lutheran – ELCA

| 2,050

| Tigers

| NCAC

Future member

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

!Institution

!Location

!Founded

!Joining

!Affiliation

!Enrollment

!Nickname

!Primary
conference

Spalding University

| Louisville, Kentucky

| 1814

| 2025

| Catholic – Sisters of Charity of Nazareth

| 1,532

| Golden Eagles

| SLIAC

Former members

School names and nicknames reflect those used in the final season of MCVL membership.

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

!Institution

!Location

!Joined

!Left

!Affiliation

!Nickname

!Current
volleyball conference

Augustana College

| Rock Island, Illinois

| 2017

| 2019

| Lutheran – ELCA

| Vikings

| CCIW

Benedictine University

| Lisle, Illinois

| 2014

| 2017

| Catholic – Benedictine

| Eagles

| NACC

Carthage College

| Kenosha, Wisconsin

| 2014

| 2019

| Lutheran – ELCA

| Red Men{{efn|group=former|"Red Men" dropped after the 2019–20 school year; new nickname of Firebirds adopted in February 2021.}}

| CCIW

Dominican University

| River Forest, Illinois

| 2014

| 2017

| Catholic – Dominican

| Stars

| NACC

Fontbonne University

| St. Louis, Missouri

| 2014

| 2024

| Catholic – Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet

| Griffins

| {{sort|ZZZ|N/A}}{{efn|group=former|Dropped men's volleyball in 2024 in advance of the university's closure in 2025.}}

Greenville University

| Greenville, Illinois

| 2015

| 2019

| Free Methodist Church

| Panthers

| {{sort|ZZZ|N/A}}{{efn|group=former|Dropped men's volleyball in 2020.{{cite press release|url=http://athletics.greenville.edu/sports/mvball/2019-20/releases/20200317pz9qlr |title=Men's volleyball to move from intercollegiate sport to club sport in 2020–21 |publisher=Greenville Panthers |date=March 17, 2020 |accessdate=September 7, 2020}}}}

Lakeland University

| Sheboygan, Wisconsin

| 2014

| 2017

| United Church of Christ

| Muskies

| NACC

Loras College

| Dubuque, Iowa

| 2014

| 2019

| Catholic – Diocesan