Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association


The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States.
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 and the MPSF ; 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, the EIVA consists of eight schools: the University of Charleston, George Mason University, Harvard University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, Princeton University, Sacred Heart University, and Saint Francis University. 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 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, Tom Hay, Ivan Marquez, Bill Odeneal, Bob Sweeney, and Tom Tait were inducted into the EIVA's inaugural Hall of Fame class during the 2012 EIVA Championship match at Penn State.

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.
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. 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.
SchoolLocationTeam nicknamePrimary conferenceJoined EIVA
University of CharlestonCharleston, West VirginiaGolden EaglesMountain East
2016
George Mason UniversityFairfax, VirginiaPatriotsAtlantic 10 1977
Harvard UniversityBoston, MassachusettsCrimsonIvy League1982
New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, New JerseyHighlandersAmerica East1977
Pennsylvania State University State College, PennsylvaniaNittany LionsBig Ten1972
Princeton UniversityPrinceton, New JerseyTigersIvy League1977
Sacred Heart UniversityFairfield, ConnecticutPioneersNortheast Conference1993
Saint Francis UniversityLoretto, PennsylvaniaRed FlashNortheast Conference1977

Future member

Conference arenas

Future member St. Francis Brooklyn in gray.
SchoolFacilityCapacity
Charleston1,551
George Mason1,550
HarvardMalkin Athletic Center1,000
NJITWellness and Events Center 3,500
Penn StateRec Hall6,469
Princeton1,500
Sacred Heart2,000
St. Francis BrooklynGenovesi Center
Saint Francis DeGol Arena3,500

Former members