NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship
 |
|
| Sport | College indoor volleyball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| No. of teams | 317 |
| Country |
 United States |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Stanford (7) |
| Most titles | Penn State, Stanford (7) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN2 |
| Official website | NCAA.com |
The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship is the annual championship in women's volleyball from teams in Division I contested by the NCAA each winter since 1981. Stanford won the most recent 2016 national championship by defeating Texas 3-1 in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 17,561 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
From 1970 through 1980, before the NCAA governed women's collegiate athletics, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women alone conducted the women's collegiate volleyball championships.
Volleyball was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981-82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the AIAW for sole governance of women's collegiate sports. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same twelve (and other) sports; however, after a year of dual women's championships, the NCAA conquered the AIAW and usurped its authority and membership.
The first NCAA championship tournament was held in 1981, with 20 schools competing for the title. The tournament expanded gradually, moving to 28 teams in 1982, 32 in 1986, 48 in 1993, 56 in 1997, and its current size of 64 teams in 1998.
There is also a NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship for men's volleyball teams, which until 2012 was for both Division I and Division III, as there are far fewer men's programs than women's. However, since 2012 the men have separate tournaments for Division I and Division III teams.
See Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championships for the Division I volleyball champions from 1970 to 1981. NOTE: In 1981 there were both NCAA and AIAW champions.
Sources: Championships records, Attendance records
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