Contact Information:
NWAACC
1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd., MS #33
Vancouver, WA 98663-3598
Phone: (360) 992-2833
Fax: (360) 696-6210
Web site: http://www.nwaacc.org/
Number of schools that carry women's volleyball: 29
Organization:
Four regions consisting of the North (7 schools), South (6 schools), East (8 schools) and West (8 schools).
Athletic Aid/Scholarships:
Scholarships and Athletic Employment are available for student-athletes. Contact individual schools for available scholarships and monies.
Signing Date for Letter of Intent:
January 15
Length of Season:
The season runs from approximately the third week in August to the third weekend of November. Teams are allowed 25 single match contests and six tournaments. The spring season starts in April and lasts six weeks. Four scrimmages are allowed during the year (fall and spring combined).
Rules:
The NWAACC abides by all NCAA rules for matches.
Organization of Playoffs/Tournament:
At the conclusion of the season, the top four teams from each region go to the NWAACC Tournament. The tournament is a double elimination tournament spread over three days to determine the NWAACC Champion.
Awards:
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Each of the region's coaches vote for a 12 member regional All-Star team with the student-athlete with the highest amount of votes getting the regional MVP.
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Each of the region's coaches also vote for the Coach of the Year for their region. Those four coaches are then voted on for the NWAACC Coach of the Year award.
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The coaches also vote for the top sophomores from their region to play at the Sophomore All Star tournament after the NWAACC Tournament.
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The conference is allowed one First Team All American and one Second Team All American through the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
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The conference also has a Hall of fame for teams, individuals and coaches.
History/Background:
The Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges is the parent organization for 35 community colleges in the states of Washington and Oregon. (Note: One college outside of Washington and Oregon holds partial membership in the NWWACC.)
The NWAACC has a variety of administrative responsibilities including conference tournament management, eligibility, publications, rule enforcement and sports information.
NWAACC History & Growth
1946: WSJCAC is Born
While athletic competition between junior colleges existed in the 1930s, the first structured league and championship events in men's sports first came about when the Washington State Junior College Athletic Conference was formed in 1946. The nine charter members of the WSJCAC were Centralia, Clark, Everett, Grays Harbor, Lower Columbia, Olympic, Skagit Valley (known then as Mt. Vernon JC), Wenatchee Valley and Yakima Valley. Columbia Basin became the tenth member in 1955.
In the spring of 1948, Executive Secretary Jim Ennis of Everett JC along with Dave DuVall of Skagit Valley and Maury Phipps of Grays Harbor wrote the original constitution governing scholarship limits, grade eligibility requirements and overall philosophy of the conference's athletic programs.
1963: The OCCAA is Established in Oregon
It was about this time when community college athletics came to life in the State of Oregon. In the winter of 1963, five schools in Oregon met to exchange ideas on the possible formation of a league. The Oregon Community College Athletic Association then began play in 1963-64 with Blue Mountain, Southwestern Oregon, Central Oregon, Clatsop and Treasure Valley as charter members. The conference more than doubled in size when Clackamas, Lane, Mt. Hood, Umpqua and three others joined in 1968-69.
1964: Washington's WSJCAC Renamed WAACC
In 1961, the Washington State Legislature cleared away a legal roadblock that had forbidden the establishment of junior colleges in those counties that had four-year colleges. That started a spurt of expansion as the conference doubled in size. In 1964, the conference was renamed the Washington Athletic Association of Community Colleges.
1970: The NWAACC is Established
The WAACC was renamed the NWAACC when Mt. Hood left the OCCAA to join their Washington neighbors in 1970. It was during the '70s that women's sports started to grow. Previously they were governed by the Northwest College Women's Sports Association. Women's sports were combined with the men's sports when the umbrella organization of the NWAACC was formed for the 1978-79 season.
The job of handling both the men's and women's athletics was too much for volunteer athletic directors who performed the task in the past. After the 1978-79 season, a five-member committee from the conference hired Frank Bosone as their first Executive Director. Bosone retired in 1992 and was succeeded by Dick McClain.
1983: Merger - OCCAA Joins NWAACC
Northwest community college athletics was forever changed when seven schools from the OCCAA joined the NWAACC for the 1983-84 season. The merger between the Washington and Oregon colleges has helped the NWAACC become a strong organization. Since 1984, nine other colleges have added intercollegiate athletics and/or became NWAACC members. Today, the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges has 36 member schools, making it the largest single community college conference in the United States.
Article courtesy of the NWAACC Web site (http://www.nwaacc.org/aboutus.php)
