BYU volleyball: Cougars to host NCAA tourney

By Dick Harmon
Deseret News
Published: Friday, Oct. 10, 2008 12:40 a.m. MDT
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PROVO — BYU will be the site of the 2009 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships on May 7-9, according to BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, who joined Brian Summers, chairman of the NCAA Volleyball Championship Committee, in making the announcement Thursday on campus.

"BYU started the sport in 1990 and has already won three national championships. I think that speaks highly of how great BYU and the community have embraced and supported the sport," said Summers, who is assistant athletic director of Louis University.

The Smith Fieldhouse will seat 6,000 for the championships, which will accommodate approximately 1,000 more fans than the 2008 national championship site. Summers said the packed building makes for a more exciting event for participants, fans and TV compared to a building that might seat more fans but have many empty seats.

"Having 5,000 to 6,000 fans is just right," Summers said.

BYU becomes the second nontraditional site of the championships, which in 40 years has basically been hosted by the same 11 schools 38 times. In 2008, Cal-Irvine played host to the event for the first time.

The 2009 championships in Provo will be the first national volleyball event contested at BYU and will mark the sixth NCAA championship event staged on campus. BYU has played host to four national championships in track and field, the last time in 1989, and one championship in wrestling in 1969.

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"It's a great pleasure to have people from the NCAA on our campus this week. The Smith Fieldhouse is a great venue and building for hosting volleyball, and we will do everything we can to make this a successful event," Holmoe said.

One of the planned highlights is to create a Volley Village in the west annex of the Field House, where interactive games, dignitaries, celebrities, food and exhibitions will take place, according to Holmoe.

"The SFH is a very special place, almost like a sacred temple of events," said Provo Mayor Lewis K. Billings. "Many may not remember the days when BYU played basketball here for a packed crowd and then-president Ernest L. Wilkinson did pushups before the game or at halftime. I remember when Bobby Kennedy came to speak in the SFH, riding in a convertible, and I was close enough to touch him.

"This is a great opportunity for the city to be a host to this event and we pledge we will do everything we can to make it a success." Tickets for the event, which will be televised nationally on ESPN and ESPNU, went on sale Thursday at the Marriott Center ticket office.

2009 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships

May 7-9, 2009
At BYU's Smith Fieldhouse
(capacity 6,000)
Tickets: Marriott Center ticket office

E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com
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