Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association

The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States.

Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
EIVA
Established1977
Members8 (9 in 2021)
Sports fielded
  • Volleyball
    • men's: 1
    • women's: 0
RegionNortheast
Former namesEastern Intercollegiate Volleyball League (ECVL)
CommissionerRuss Yurk
Websitewww.eivavolleyball.com/%20eivavolleyball.com

The EIVA Tournament champion receives one of five automatic bids to the NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship. The other four automatic bids go to the two other traditional major volleyball conferences, the MIVA (Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) and the MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation); the Big West Conference, which in the 2017–18 school year became the first Division I all-sports conference ever to sponsor men's volleyball; and Conference Carolinas, a Division II conference that was the first all-sports conference in either Division I or II to sponsor men's volleyball. Before the 2014 tournament, the EIVA, MIVA, and MPSF received three of the four bids to the NCAA tournament, with the remaining entry being an at-large bid that was chosen from one of the three leagues by a committee of coaches from these leagues. The tournament expanded to six teams in 2014 when Conference Carolinas was given its automatic bid, and seven in 2018 with the addition of the Big West champion. The current lineup consists of the five conference champions and two at-large entries.

Penn State has won every conference championship for the past 18 years, with the exception of 1998 when Princeton captured the title, 2016 when George Mason won the title and 2018 when Harvard emerged on top. The Nittany Lions are the only conference team to win the NCAA national championships, having captured the title in 1994 and 2008.

As of the 2020 season (2019–20 school year), the EIVA consists of eight schools: the University of Charleston (in West Virginia; not to be confused with the College of Charleston in South Carolina), George Mason University, Harvard University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU), Princeton University, Sacred Heart University, and Saint Francis University (in Pennsylvania; not to be confused with future EIVA member St. Francis College in Brooklyn, which like the Pennsylvania school is an all-sports member of the Northeast Conference). The top four teams compete for the EIVA championship. The winner represents the conference in the NCAA Div. I/II national championships.

Previously, from 2005-2006 to 2010-2011, the conference was divided into two divisions. The higher division was named the Tait Division and the lower division was named the Hay Division. The conference used a system of promotion and relegation whereby the last place team from the Tait Division went to the Hay for the following season and the highest ranked Hay Division team moved to the Tait. Prior to that, there was a second lower division (equal to Hay) named the Sweeney Division, but this was eliminated for the 2006 season. The two lower divisions were merged into one division at that time.

On April 28, 2012, Uvaldo Acosta (George Mason), Tom Hay (Springfield College), Ivan Marquez (Concordia [NY]), Bill Odeneal (SUNY New Paltz), Bob Sweeney (East Stroudsburg), and Tom Tait (Penn State) were inducted into the EIVA's inaugural Hall of Fame class during the 2012 EIVA Championship match at Penn State.[1]

Members

The EIVA has eight member teams, seven from the NCAA's Division I. The University of Charleston of Division II joined the conference for competition in 2016 after spending the 2015 season as an independent.[2]

Through the 2014 season, Division III Rutgers–Newark had been the EIVA's eighth member but spent its final years in the EIVA transitioning to Division III men's volleyball and left for the D-III Continental Volleyball Conference in 2015.[3] Because Rutgers–Newark traditionally competed in the former University Division in men's volleyball before the NCAA created its current three-division setup in 1972, it had been allowed to award scholarships in that sport, making it one of only seven D-III schools then allowed to do so in any sport. As part of its D-III transition, it stopped awarding scholarships to new athletes in the 2011 season.

The most recent change to the conference membership was announced on May 6, 2020. St. Francis Brooklyn will join the EIVA for the 2022 season.[4]

School Location Team nickname Primary conference Joined EIVA
University of Charleston Charleston, West Virginia Golden Eagles Mountain East
(Division II)		 2016
George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia Patriots Atlantic 10 (A-10) 1977
Harvard University Boston, Massachusetts[lower-alpha 1] Crimson Ivy League 1982
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Newark, New Jersey Highlanders America East 1977
Pennsylvania State University (PSU) State College, Pennsylvania Nittany Lions Big Ten 1972
Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey Tigers Ivy League 1977
Sacred Heart University Fairfield, Connecticut Pioneers Northeast Conference 1993
Saint Francis University Loretto, Pennsylvania Red Flash Northeast Conference 1977
  1. Although Harvard's overall administration and undergraduate campus are in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the athletic department offices and almost all sports venues, including the volleyball arena, are within the Boston city limits.

Future member
School Location Team nickname Primary conference Joining EIVA
St. Francis College (St. Francis Brooklyn) Brooklyn, New York Terriers Northeast Conference 2022

Conference arenas

Future member St. Francis Brooklyn in gray.

School Facility Capacity
Charleston H. Bernard Wehrle Sr. Athletic Arena 1,551
George Mason Recreation Athletic Complex 1,550
Harvard Malkin Athletic Center 1,000
NJIT Wellness and Events Center (WEC) 3,500
Penn State Rec Hall 6,469
Princeton Dillon Gym 1,500
Sacred Heart Pitt Center 2,000
St. Francis Brooklyn Genovesi Center N/A
Saint Francis (PA) DeGol Arena 3,500

Former members
  • Concordia College (New York) - dropped program in 2003
  • East Stroudsburg University - dropped program
  • Juniata College - left EIVA in 2011 due to creation of NCAA Div. III national championship
  • New York University - left EIVA in 2011 due to creation of NCAA Div. III national championship
  • University of New Haven - dropped program after 2008 season
  • Queens College - dropped program
  • Rutgers–Newark – completed transition to D-III volleyball in 2014
  • Springfield College - left EIVA in 2011 due to creation of NCAA Div. III national championship
  • Vassar College - moved to NECVA
  • SUNY New Paltz - left EIVA in 1999
  • Southampton College - Dropped program when the school was closed.

References
  1. "EIVA Inaugural Hall of Fame Inductees". Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  2. "EIVA votes to add Charleston to conference beginning in 2016". Off the Block. February 20, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  3. "Transitioning Scarlet Raiders Join CVC" (Press release). Rutgers–Newark Athletics. March 13, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  4. "St. Francis College Brooklyn Men's Volleyball Accepted into EIVA" (Press release). St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers. May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
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