Contacts:
- Dennis Swittzer, Sports Information Director, 803-705-4346, dennis.switzer@benedict.edu
- Wade Garard, First Point Volleyball Foundation 317-418-8967 wade@firstpointvolleyball.com
- Bill Kauffman, USA Volleyball, Senior Manager of Communications, 719-228-6800, bill.kauffman@usav.org
- Tyler Williams, Director of Communications, SIAC 404-221-1041 williams@thesiac.com
MEDIA ADVISORY
Atlanta, GA – History will be made this September as the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), an NCAA Division II conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), will announce a $1 million grant from First Point Volleyball Foundation and USA Volleyball to support the league in sponsoring NCAA Division I-II Men’s Volleyball.
Six SIAC institutions in the conference will announce the addition of NCAA DII Intercollegiate Men’s Volleyball during the week of Sept. 3-6.
The SIAC will officially become the first predominantly HBCU conference to announce the sponsorship of NCAA Men’s Volleyball. The announcement will be coupled with a four-day press conference tour and will discuss the historical significance of this grant and these institutions helping to build the pipeline for American Olympic success. Speakers will include First Point Volleyball Foundation CEO Wade Garard, USA Volleyball CEO Jamie Davis, Head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team and UCLA John Speraw, amongst other representatives.
The four-day tour will kick off in Frankfort, Kentucky and will conclude in Fort Valley, Georgia. The schedule of press conferences is as follows (For Controlled Distribution)
- Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, @ 10:30 am @ Kentucky State University @Student Center 4th Floor Ballroom, 400 E. Main St. Frankfort, KY
- Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, @ 3:30 pm @ Central State University Media Multipurpose Room of University Center at Central State University Wilberforce, OH
- Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, @ 9:30 am @ Swinton Campus Center-Ballroom C- Benedict College 1600 Harden St. Columbia, SC 29204
- Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, @ 4:30 pm @ Paine College HEAL Complex 1255 Druid Park Avenue Augusta, GA30901
- Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, @ 3:00 pm @ Morehouse College Lobby of Walter E. Massey Leadership CenterWestview Dr. SW & West End Ave. SW Atlanta, GA 30314 Atlanta, GA
- Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, @ 12:00 pm noon @ Fort Valley State University Student Amenities Building 1005 State University Drive Fort Valley, GA 31030
About the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The SIAC is an NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 14 member institutions (Albany State University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Paine College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous six-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors seven men’s and six women’s sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit www.thesiac.com.
About First Point Volleyball Foundation –
Founded in 2016 by Wade Garard and John Speraw, Head Coach of the USA Men’s National Team and UCLA Men’s Volleyball, First Point Volleyball Foundation exists to provide opportunities for young people to mature and develop through volleyball. Specifically focused on growing boys’ and men’s volleyball in the United States, First Point Volleyball Foundation initiates and celebrates FIRST POINTS whether that is a first point of a new NCAA team, or a new high school team, or a first point of competitive volleyball for a 12-year-old. First Point Volleyball has raised $3.1 million in less than three years and has helped start 17 new collegiate men’s volleyball programs. The Foundation has three strategic initiatives: (1) Growing collegiate opportunities; (2) Growing high school boys’ opportunities; and (3) Extending our Reach Diversity Initiative – expanding volleyball opportunities to boys and men of color. www.firstpointvolleyball.com.
About USA Volleyball
About Boys’ and Men’s Volleyball in the United States
Boys’ volleyball is exploding. It is the fastest-growing team sport in the United States for high school boys, growing at 22% over the last five years. The 2nd fastest-growing sport grew by only 10% and football decreased 9% over the same five-year period. With 63,563 boys playing high school now it is projected that 100,000 boys will be playing by 2026. Minnesota added 1,000 boys volleyball players and 51 high school teams in the last two years alone. Colorado just officially sanctioned boys’ high school volleyball and sanctioning initiatives and pilots are underway in 18 additional states. New Men’s Volleyball programs have been initiated in 80 universities in the last five years alone – mostly at the DII, DIII, and NAIA levels. In 2018, First Point Volleyball Foundation provided Saint Francis College- Brooklyn (a Division I institution) a $100,000 grant to add Men’s Volleyball beginning in 2019-2020.
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Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) as the National Governing Body for the volleyball disciplines of beach, indoor, sitting, snow and beach ParaVolley in the United States. With more than 370,000 registered members, USA Volleyball conducts national championship events, coaching and referee certification
programs, and grassroots development across all disciplines in a lifetime sport in which all can participate. USA Volleyball’s teams have won an Olympic medal in every Olympic Games since 1984, four Paralympic medals since 2004 and numerous World Cup, World Championship and Continental Championship titles. For more information on USA Volleyball, visit www.usavolleyball.org. #PathtothePodium
