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NAIA Men's Volleyball Aligns Conferences to Three Divisions
PARKVILLE, Mo. - Newly hired Mid-America Men's Volleyball Intercollegiate Conference (MAMVIC) Commissioner Bruce Billingsley has announced the realignment of the 18 teams competing in NAIA Men's Volleyball effective immediately.
The 18 squads have been realigned into three divisions the MAMVIC East, MAMVIC West and MAMVIC National.
The MAMVIC East and West divisions will look quite familiar from year's past with the exception of two new institutions. Grand View University out of Des Moines, Iowa will join the MAMVIC West and Lourdes College out of Sylvania, Ohio will join the MAMVIC East.
Joining Lourdes in the MAMVIC East is seven fellow school's Cardinal Stritch University, Clarke University, Moody Bible Institute, Robert Morris University, Siena Heights University, St. Ambrose University and St. Xavier University.
In the MAMVIC West, Grand View will join Graceland University, Hannibal-LaGrange University, Missouri Baptist University, Missouri Valley College and Park University.
Four institutions will make up the MAMVIC National division including Warner University, Johnson and Wales University, Holy Names University and Hope International University.
Warner was previously in the MAMVIC East, while Johnson & Wales was part of the MAMVIC West in the past and Holy Names along with Hope International were independent institutions.
The MAMVIC East, West and National divisions will each have a post season tournament to decide the school that advances to the NAIA National Tournament. The winner of each tournament will earn an automatic bid into the national tournament.
The host school of the national tournament will also earn an automatic bid and there will be two at-large bids handed out to the two highest rated teams that did not win their divisional championship tournament.
The 2012 MAMVIC East divisional tournament will take place from March 30-31 on the campus of St. Xavier University in Chicago, Ill., while the MAMVIC West divisional tournament will be played also from March 30-31 on the campus of Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, Mo.
The MAMVIC National Division Tournament will be hosted by Hope International and will be played in Fullerton, Calif., from March 23-24.
For the third straight season the 2012 Tachikara NAIA Men's Volleyball National Invitational Tournament Championship will be held in Davenport, Iowa and will be hosted by St. Ambrose from April 12-14.
Johnson & Wales University will host the 2013 and 2014 Tachikara NAIA Men's Volleyball National Invitational Tournament in Denver, Colo.
MAMVIC East Division
Cardinal Stritch
Clarke
Lourdes
Moody Bible Institute
Robert Morris
Sienna Heights
St. Ambrose
St. Xavier
MAMVIC West Division
Park
Grand View
Missouri Valley
Graceland
Missouri Baptist
Hannibal-LaGrange
MAMVIC National Division
Johnson & Wales
Warner
Holy Names
Hope International
