Contact Information :
NJCAA National Office
1755 Telstar Drive, Suite 103
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Phone: (719) 590-9788
Fax: (719) 590-7324
Web site: http://www.njcaa.org/
Number of schools that carry women's volleyball: 106
Organization:
The U.S., except for California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii is divided into 24 regions. Of these 24 regions, 13 have NJCAA Division I volleyball teams that span 18 different states including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Arizona.
Length / Organization of Season:
Each school may participate in 28 competition dates in the Fall, not counting the postseason, and up to four in the Spring. The first matches of the season may begin on the last Friday of August and continue through the national tournament the third weekend of November.
Organization of Playoffs/Tournament:
The NJCAA Division I National Volleyball Tournament is a 16 team tournament. Qualification is done within districts and regions, combinations of smaller regions, or divisions within larger regions. Please see the 2007-2008 NJCAA Handbook and Casebook for the current district and regional qualification assignments. The tournament is a double elimination format without playback from the consolation side of the bracket. The 2007, 2008 and 2009 national tournament will be hosted by Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa and played at the beautiful Mid-America Center.
Awards:
- Regions select all-region teams based on their own guidelines.
- Each region nominates its top candidates for the NJCAA Division I All-American Team. The team consists of 12 first-team members and 12 second-team members.
- NJCAA Division I Women's Volleyball is also eligible for spots on the AVCA Two-Year All American team. In 2006, Juliana Paz (Iowa Western Community College) was named the AVCA Two-Year Player of the Year and Terry Gamble (Iowa Western Community College) was named the AVCA Two-Year National Coach of the Year.
History/Background:
The NJCAA began in 1937 with 13 California schools. The first NJCAA championship event -- the track and field championships -- were held in 1939. In 1975, the NJCAA added its women's division. The first NJCAA women's volleyball champion was crowned in 1974. There was only one division until 1996. In 1996, Division III was separated off from Division I. In 1999, the NJCAA expanded to three divisions with three volleyball national championship tournaments, and has continued with this three-tier divisional split in women's volleyball.
Other Information:
The level of play at the top Division I programs is very similar to the top NCAA level teams. One of the reasons for the high level of play is the influx of international players. The NJCAA DI level programs are permitted to have three international players. Division I NJCAA programs are also permitted to grant athletic aid up to, and including, tuition, fees, books, room and board.
