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There now will be a national ranking system specifically for NCAA Division II men’s volleyball programs.
Off the Block announced Wednesday that it will coordinate the inaugural Division II National Coaches Poll throughout the 2017 season.
The new weekly national coaches poll will recognize the top-five Division II teams. In addition, the first rankings will be released in January after the opening week of the season and new rankings will be unveiled each Tuesday during the regular season.
Both NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II men’s volleyball programs compete for the same national championship. The number of Division II schools adding men’s volleyball has expanded in recent years, and more than 20 Division II schools now sponsor men’s volleyball.
This will be the third national ranking system in college men’s volleyball, but neither of the other polls are specifically for Division II programs.
The AVCA National Coaches Poll ranks the top 15 Division I-II men’s volleyball teams and is released each Monday during the regular season. The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll also ranks the top 10 Division I-II men’s volleyball programs and is released each Tuesday during the regular season.
The creation of this new coaches poll is a way to recognize the outstanding team performances from Division II programs throughout the nation.
Only one Division II program, Lewis, was ranked in either the final national coaches poll or final national media poll last season. In addition, two Division II teams were ranked in the final 2015 national coaches poll.
Similar to the AVCA Division I-II National Coaches Poll and National Media Poll, the Division II National Coaches Poll will not be part of the criteria used by the selection committee to determine the NCAA Tournament field.
Off the Block has invited Division II men’s volleyball head coaches from around the nation to participate in the inaugural year of this coaches poll. A list of voters will be released closer to the start of the 2017 season.
Off the Block is a college men’s volleyball website that launched in 2011 and has emerged as one of the nation’s leaders in college men’s volleyball coverage.
NCAA Division II men’s volleyball programs
The following teams are eligible for the top-five Division II National Coaches Poll in the 2017 season.
Alderson Broaddus
Barton
Belmont Abbey
Cal Baptist
Coker
Concordia-Irvine
Charleston
Emmanuel
Erskine
King
Lewis
Limestone
Lincoln Memorial
Lindenwood
Lees-McRae
McKendree
Mount Olive
North Greenville
Pfeiffer
Quincy
UC San Diego