A brief history of college volleyball

For anyone who grew up playing volleyball, who played in high school or was ever awarded a college volleyball scholarship, it may seem like the sport is as old as time. But, in actuality, volleyball is among the younger American past times. In fact, it wasn't even invented until well after the Civil War. In 1895, a physical education instructor by the name of William Morgan created the game of volleyball. He created this with the middle aged in mind; believing that sports like basketball might cause injuries, he aimed for something a little easier on the body. Despite this, volleyball wasn't a game that only the middle aged played. Instead it became loved and played by all ages. Two years after his creation, the YMCA of North America published the first official volleyball rules. This year also saw the evolution of the first volleyball. Initially a basketball with a rubber bladder, the ball was redesigned to make it smaller and lighter. In the following years, volleyball spread to other YMCAs and even other countries. This was also when college volleyball first appeared. Over the following two decades, the rules of volleyball, as well as the court, the net, and the ball itself, were updated again and again. College volleyball really took off in 1916 when the NCAA joined with the YMCA and redefined the rules once more. In 1920, the first YMCA championship was help in New York. However, only YMCA teams were allowed to participate. This was amended eight years later with the creation of the United Stated Volleyball Association. This association allowed both YMCA and NCAA teams into the championship. It wasn't until the late 1960 that college volleyball started to get major NCAA funding. The first true college championship took place in 1970 and was won by UCLA. In 1981, women's college volleyball was also given a championship. The first winner was the team from Southern Cal. Nowadays, college volleyball has evolved even more. It can be found in hundreds of colleges across the country. College volleyball scholarships are awarded to outstanding players. These scholarships are available from all Division 1 teams and many Division 2. All three divisions have schools with teams. In addition to college volleyball scholarships, the Morgan Trophy - to honor the creator - is also presented to the outstanding male and female college volleyball player each year. This tradition began in 1995.

In this article Jonathon Blocker writes about college volleyball and college volleyball scholarships