2017 NCAA College Beach Volleyball Survey Results – 64 Teams

Kathy DeBoer, Executive Director

Created using EFM

2017 AVCA Beach Volleyball Survey

Type: 2017 AVCA Beach Volleyball - Frequency Report Date: 6/22/2017

Total number of responses collected: 64 (All Varsity Programs) Following are the results of the annual survey of NCAA College Beach programs conducted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Interspersed with the findings are comments and graphs designed to give an overview of the first six years of beach volleyball in NCAA institutions. Participation and Scholarships 1. How many players did you have on your team last season?

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

10 4.7% 3

11 3.1% 2

12 15.6% 10

13 7.8% 5

14 20.3% 13

15 7.8% 5

16 9.4% 6

17 9.4% 6

18 9.4% 6

19 4.7% 3

20 1.6% 1

21 1.6% 1

22 0.0% 0

23 1.6% 1

24 1.6% 1

More than 24 1.6% 1

Number of participants reported is 970 (up from 832 in ’16) with an average squad size of 15. With no substitutions allowed and the flighted format requiring locked in lineups early in the season, we need to find ways to provide participation opportunities for more than 10 players or squad sizes will decline.

Created using EFM

The first season of collegiate beach volleyball was the spring of 2012 when 15 DI institutions sponsored varsity teams, mostly populated by crossover players from their court teams and coached by the same staff. Six years later, 64 NCAA schools fielded squads, 52 in DI, nine in DII and three in DIII.

Beach Volleyball transitioned from an emerging sport to a championship sport in four years, faster than any sport in NCAA history. 2017 marked the second year of the NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship. Eight teams were selected to participate in Gulf Shores, Alabama, May 5-7, in a three-day double-elimination team tournament. Turner/TruTV provided eight hours of live coverage, ticket sales exceeded $100,000 and attendance was almost 6,300.

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

204

416

611

747

834

970

Number of NCAA Beach VB Student-Athletes

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

1528

39 4456

64

# of NCAA Beach Teams

Created using EFM

The following weekend, USA Volleyball, in partnership with the USOC’s Summer Champions Series, hosted their first Collegiate Beach Championships. Twenty-four women’s and 12 men’s teams vied for positions on summer national team rosters.

2. Do you have scholarships for beach volleyball?

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count Yes, my institution's beach volleyball program is FULLY FUNDED with six scholarships.

26.6% 17

Yes, but my institution's beach volleyball program has less than six scholarships.

29.7% 19

No 43.8% 28

59% (36/61) of teams allowed to offer scholarship aid for Beach VB are offering support, and 28% are fully funded at six equivalencies. This is the second year that over half of the schools sponsoring beach are offering scholarship aid.

Total Responses

64 (3 in DIII)

3. If you are less than fully funded, how many scholarships do you have (if amount is between two numbers, round to nearest number)? Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Less than 1 equivalency 23.8% 5

1 19.0% 4

2 28.6% 6 3 9.5% 2 4 14.3% 3 5 4.8% 1 41.5 scholarships are offered at the 19 schools with partial funding. 102 scholarships are provided by the fully-funded programs. 143.5 total equivalency grants were distributed in 2016-17. This is a 29% increase over 2015-16.

Total Responses 21

Created using EFM

4. Including players on indoor scholarships, how many players on your beach team were on scholarship in 2017? (Respondents could only choose a single response) 5 0.0% 0

6 5.6% 2

7 5.6% 2

8 8.3% 3

9 2.8% 1

10 8.3% 3

11 11.1% 4

12 16.7% 6

13 2.8% 1

14 22.2% 8

15 5.6% 2

16 5.6% 2

More than 16. 5.6% 2

Not Answered 2

Beach scholarships are equivalency awards, not head count, like court VB. Only eight of the 38 schools with scholarships are distributing their aid across the maximum number of counters, which is 14. Number of players on aid above 14 indicates that court players on scholarship are also playing on the beach team.

Total Responses 38

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

35.560 80

111.5143.5

# of Beach Scholarships Most institutions phase in scholarship support. The DI maximum is six equivalencies, DII is five equivalencies. Aid is increasing by about 30% annually across DI and DII programs.

Created using EFM

5. Including incoming players, how many student-athletes do you have on beach volleyball scholarship aid? Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

1 5.9% 2

2 8.8% 3

3 5.9% 2

4 11.8% 4

5 0.0% 0

6 2.9% 1

7 2.9% 1

8 8.8% 3

9 2.9% 1

10 8.8% 3

11 5.9% 2

12 5.9% 2

13 8.8% 3

14 20.6% 7

287 women are on Beach VB aid; this is a 35% increase over 2015-16

Total Responses 38

The number of student-athletes on beach aid has increased by an average of 43% annually.

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

69106

140

213

287

# of Players on Beach Scholarships

Created using EFM

Student-athletes on beach scholarship aid are prohibited from playing on the indoor team for their first two years. This was done to avoid the possibility that the beach team would be used as a place to redshirt indoor talent, and to encourage to development of a unique player pool for beach volleyball. Of the 1002 student-athletes listed on institutional websites in February of 2017, 500 (50%) were listed only on the beach volleyball roster.

The graph below illustrates that the phased investment strategy used by most institutions when starting a beach volleyball program is creating new opportunities. Although the pattern is a bit irregular depending on the number of teams added in each year and unique institutional funding models, over time beach and court teams rely on different student-athletes.

66% 53% 61% 49% 33% 16%

169

11796

4655

17

6 YR TEAMS 5 YR TEAMS 4 YR TEAMS 3 YR TEAMS 2 YR TEAMS 1 YR TEAMS

2017 Beach VB Players who are New SA's

2 0 1 3 - 1 4 ( 3 9

T E A M S )

2 0 1 4 - 1 5 ( 4 4

T E A M S )

2 0 1 5 - 1 6 ( 5 5

T E A M S )

2 0 1 6 - 1 7 ( 6 4

T E A M S )

404 374 471 502

188 295363

500

NCAA BEACH TEAMS

Crossover Players Beach Only

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2013-14 (39teams)

2014-15 (44teams)

2015-16 (55teams)

2016-17 (64teams)

404 374 471 502

188 295 363 500

Percentage of Beach Teams that are Court Players

Crossover Players Beach Only

Created using EFM

6. Does your school have plans to add scholarship aid for beach volleyball in the next two years? (Respondents could only choose a single response) Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Yes 22.2% 14

No 77.8% 49-20=29 The 17 fully-funded and the 3 DIII teams are prohibited by legislation from adding scholarships. Eliminating those 20 institutions leaves 29 schools who have no plans to increase aid, with 14 planning to add scholarship resources for beach volleyball.

Total Responses

64 (3 DIII)

Staffing 7. Do you have dedicated PAID staff for beach volleyball?

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Yes 42.2% 27

No 57.8% 37

The percentage of institutions hiring dedicated staff has stay between 40-44% for the last three years. Due to program increase, the number of beach coaching jobs continues to increase; 27 head coaches were beach-specific in 2016-17 versus 22 in 2015-16.

Total Responses

64

10. Is the head beach volleyball coach full-time, part-time, or other classification (please specify)? (Respondents could only choose a single response) Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Full-Time 82.1% 23

Part-Time 0.0% 0

Other Classification 17.9% 5

The number of full-time beach coaches increased from 18 to 23 in 2016-17

Total Responses 28

2011-12 (15) 2012-13 (29) 2013-14 (39) 2014-15 (45) 2015-16 (56) 2016-17 (64)

28

1520 23

27

NUMBER OF NEW BEACH HEAD COACHES

Created using EFM

8. What is the salary of the head beach volleyball coach?

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Less than $20,000 7.4% 2

$20,001 - $30,000 3.7% 1 $30,001 - $35,000 7.4% 2 $35,001 - $40,000 3.7% 1 $45,001 - $50,000 3.7% 1 $40,001 - $45,000 0.0% 0 $50,001 - $55,000 22.2% 6 $55,001 - $60,000 0.0% 0 $60,001 - $65,000 7.4% 2 $65,001 - $70,000 11.1% 3 $70,001 - $74,999 0.0% 0

$75,000 or More 33.3% 9 Salaries increased dramatically between 2015-16 and 2016-17: 20 beach coaches make over $50,000 and the number making over $75,000 increased from 4 to 9.

Total Responses 28

10. Is the assistant beach volleyball coach full-time, part-time, or other classification

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Full-Time 63.0% 17 Part-Time 14.8% 4 Other Classifiication 18.5% 5 N/A 3.7% 1

Total Responses 27

2011-12 (15) 2012-13 (29) 2013-14 (39) 2014-15 (45) 2015-16 (56) 2016-17 (64)

1

812

1619

26

NUMBER OF NEW ASSISANT BEACH COACHES

Created using EFM

9. What is the salary of the assistant beach volleyball coach? Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Less than $10,000 11.1% 3

$10,001 - $20,000 14.8% 4

$20,001 - $25,000 0.0% 0

$25,001 - $30,000 11.1% 3

$30,001 - $35,000 11.1% 3

$35,001 - $40,000 11.1% 3

$40,001 - $45,000 11.1% 3

$45,001 - $49,999 7.4% 2

$50,000 or More 14.8% 4

Total Responses 27

11. Does your beach volleyball program have a volunteer assistant beach coach? Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Yes 81.5% 22

No 18.5% 5

Total Responses 27

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

25

12

2023

27

1

812

1619

26

New Paid Coaching Positions in College Beach

Created using EFM

12. If no dedicated beach staff, who is the head coach of your beach volleyball team? Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Head Court VB Coach 51.4% 19

1st Assistant Court VB Coach 27.0% 10

2nd Assistant Court VB Coach 8.1% 3

Other 13.5% 5

37 of 64 beach teams, 58% are coached by a member of the current court staff. This percentage has stayed consistent for three years. New programs are generally coached by a crossover coach from the court team who agrees to take on double duty to get the beach team started.

Total Responses

37

Playing Dates, Travel Budget and Facilities NCAA rules require a minimum of eight contests for an institution to count beach volleyball as an intercollegiate sport for minimum sponsorship purposes. On three dates only one contest may be counted even though more can be played. The pragmatic effect is that five dates of competition are the minimum. The maximum number of dates is 16; in DI, two of those dates could be played in the fall, in DII, four additional dates were allowed in the fall. A legislative change in the spring of 2017 (2016-89) will permit four additional nonchampionship segment dates in DI starting with the 2017-18 school year. The passage of 2016-15 exempts fall play from counting as a season of eligibility. The starting date for competition in DI was pushed back to the last weekend in February, from the 1st weekend in March, also by legislative change (2016-89).

2011-12 (15) 2012-13 (29) 2013-14 (39) 2014-15 (45) 2015-16 (56) 2016-17 (64)

2

8

1520

2327

11 1216 18 17 19

2

8 8 6

15 13

Who Coaches the Beach Team?Beach Coach Head Ct Coach Asst Ct Coach

Created using EFM

13. How many dates did you play this year, not counting the NCAA Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championship? Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

5 1.6% 1

6 0.0% 0

7 1.6% 1

8 11.1% 7

9 0.0% 0

10 7.9% 5

11 6.3% 4

12 7.9% 5

13 9.5% 6

14 11.1% 7

15 6.3% 4

16 36.5% 23

Not Answered 1

40 of 64 teams (63%) played 13 or more dates in 2017. Only two teams played 7 or less dates.

Total Responses

64

14. What was your travel budget, not counting the NCAA Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championship or the USA Volleyball Collegiate Beach Pairs Championships?

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Less than $15,000 42.2% 27

$15,001 - $30,000 26.6% 17

$30,001 - $50,000 14.1% 9

$50,001 - $74,999 12.5% 8

$75,000 or More 4.7% 3

Over 40% of beach teams spent under $15,000 on travel and almost 70% spent less than $30,000. Travel costs are increasing with 11 programs spending over $50,000.

64

Created using EFM

15. Did you use any playing dates to play in a Pairs-Only event? (Respondents could only choose a single response) Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Yes 23.4% 15

No 76.6% 49

The NCAA focus on team play has reduced the percentage of teams using dates for Pairs-only play. The addition of four dates in the fall may start a new trend of using the non-championship segment for Pairs play.

64

16. How many days did you use to play in Pairs-Only events? (Respondents could only choose a single response) Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

1 56.3% 9

2 18.8% 3

3 6.3% 1

4 12.5% 2

Other 6.3% 1

Most pairs play was staged as part of end-of-the-year conference championships as these dates are exempt from the 16 allowed for regular season play.

16

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

53% 55% 53%

42%

26%18% 16%

27%21%

27%31% 31%

COLLEGE BEACH VOLLEYBALL TRAVEL BUDGETSBeach Volleyball Travel Budget < $15,000 Beach Volleyball Travel Budget 15,000-30,000

Beach Volleyball Travel Budget >$30,000

Created using EFM

17. Do you have an on-campus facility for practice?

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Yes 79.7% 51

No 20.3% 13

Almost 80% of varsity beach teams are practicing on campus, up 13% from 2016. 64

18. If not on campus, where do you practice? (Check all that apply) Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Park 23.1% 3

Beach 38.5% 5

Restaurant/Bar 30.8% 4 Other 23.1% 3

Total Responses 14

Created using EFM

19. How many sand courts do you have for practice? (Respondents could only choose a single response) Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

1 11.1% 7

2 20.6% 13

3 33.3% 21

4 14.3% 9

5 11.1% 7

More than 5 9.5% 6 Two and three court campus facilities are the most popular option. When building, most school are constructing at least three courts. 63

20. Is your practice facility suitable for competition? (Respondents could only choose a single response) Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Yes 82.8% 53

No 17.2% 11

Total Responses 64

University of Central Arkansas three court facility opened in spring of 2017.

Created using EFM

21. Do you plan to build or upgrade your facility in the next two years? (Respondents could only choose a single response)

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Yes 40.0% 4

No 60.0% 6

Not Answered 1

40% of those without suitable competition facilities have plans to upgrade. 11

Most of the cost in facilities is in lights, bleachers and permanent scoreboards. If the institution owes the land and site preparation is minimal, beach volleyball courts can be constructed for $30,000-$50,000 per court. Upfront attention to drainage and quality of sand will make the facility long-lasting and relatively maintenance free. For pictures, costs, and contacts information on recent college beach volleyball facilities, go to the beach tab at www.avca.org.

Coastal Carolina Beach Volleyball Courts Five Courts finished in March of 2016 Cost: $200,000; Lights, scoreboard and bleachers to be added as resources are raised.

Jacksonville University Courts opened Spring of 2012. Donor-funded cost of $80,000.

Created using EFM

22. Do you have access to indoor or covered sand courts?

Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

Yes 7.8% 5

No 92.2% 59

While indoor courts are still a luxury, the number of programs with access increase from one in 2016 to five in 2017. Indoor courts are becoming increasingly popular in locations with thriving summer beach play and unpredictable spring weather.

64

23. If so, how many indoor or covered sand courts are available? (Respondents could only choose a single response) Response 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequency Count

1 42.9% 3 2 42.9% 3 3 14.3% 1

Valid Responses 7 For more information on college beach volleyball go to www.avca.org and access the beach volleyball segment of the website. You will find NCAA legislation, administrative regulations, forms for exchanging line ups and reporting results, budget templates, lists of school currently sponsoring beach volleyball and those considering the sport, as well as, materials for writing a proposal. The AVCA provides members with coaching education, career development, research, advocacy, polls, awards, and opportunities for engagement in beach volleyball. Join the AVCA! Create the Future!

University of Utah two indoor courts opened March 2017