Big West will add championship tournaments for volleyball, softball, baseball
Tony Avelar/ Special to the Star-Advertiser / Dec. 2
Hawaii’s Amber Igiede spiked a ball past against LSU middle blocker Alia Williams in the fourth set during a first-round match of the NCAA women’s volleyball championship tournament in Stanford, Calif.
The Big West will add a women’s volleyball tournament starting next season with softball and baseball championships to follow, the conference announced today.
The new championships were approved by the Big West Board of Directors at the conference’s annual fall meeting, which concluded Thursday in Irvine, Calif.
Starting next season, Big West women’s volleyball teams will play an 18-game conference schedule leading to a six-team championship tournament in late November. The inaugural tournament will be hosted by Long Beach State.
To this point, the Big West’s regular-season champion was awarded the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Hawaii has won the last three Big West titles, going 19-1 this season to earn a spot in the NCAA bracket for the 29th straight season.
A Big West softball tournament is set to debut in May 2025. Six teams will qualify for the double-elimination tournament. The site of the tournament will be announced later.
A baseball tournament will be added “as early as 2025,” according to the release, making the league the final NCAA Division I conference to hold a postseason tournament. The tournament site and format will be announced by the coming spring.
