The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

. Its member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, stretching from Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 in the west to Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 in the east. Many of the conference's schools also participate in the similarly named Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association

Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association

The Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association is a collegiate club men's volleyball sports league in the Midwest United States...

 in men's volleyball at the club level.

The MIVA Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the semifinals of the NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship

NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship

The NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship is the tournament that determines the national championship of American college volleyball.The "Final Four" is a term used exclusively by NCAA Basketball but is commonly used to describe the Men's Volleyball Championship...

 which consists of 4 teams who play single elimination to determine the National Champion. The two other major volleyball conferences, the EIVA (Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association

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....

) and the MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation

The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is a college athletic conference whose member teams are located in the western United States. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I level.-History:...

) also send their league tournament champions to the National Semifinals.

History

On February 4, 1961 representatives of Ball State University, Detroit Institute of Technology, Earlham College, George Williams College, Lancing College, Michigan State University, Ohio State University and Wittenberg College met in Lansing, Mich. to form the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Conference, the nation's first men's college volleyball league. The league started through the efforts of Jim Coleman of Wittenberg College and Don Shondell of Ball State University. Later the league name was changed to the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. The Midwest's premier volleyball conference has provided the foundation for the sport in the region at every competitive level, from juniors to the United States national teams. More than forty schools have participated in the MIVA during its history.

Members

The MIVA comprises seven teams from the NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

's Division I and Division II.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Team Nickname	Primary conference
Ball State University Ball State University Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...	Muncie, Indiana Muncie, Indiana Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...	1918	Public Public university A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...	21,401	Cardinals Ball State Cardinals Ball State University's athletic teams are called the Cardinals. The Cardinals are part of the NCAA Mid-American Conference and located in Muncie, Indiana...	Mid-American Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...  (D-I)
IPFW Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne is the largest university in northern Indiana, United States, offering more than 200 Indiana University and Purdue University degrees and certificates. Since 1968, IPFW has conferred nearly 8,800 master’s degrees, 27,000 bachelor’s degrees, more...	Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...	1964	Public	14,192	Mastodons IPFW Mastodons The IPFW Mastodons are the athletic teams of Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne. The Mastodons compete as an National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I school in the The Summit League for most sports and in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association for men's...	Summit League (D-I)
Lewis University Lewis University Lewis University is a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university located in Romeoville, Illinois, United States . The enrollment is currently around 6,800 students...	Romeoville, Illinois Romeoville, Illinois Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,153 at the 2000 census. As of 2006 the population has grown to 36,837. It is located in the southwest suburban area of Chicago near the newly constructed I-355 extension south from the Stevenson Expressway to I-80...	1932	Private Private university Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are... /Catholic Catholic The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...	5,800	Flyers	GLVC Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes at the NCAA's Division II level. Member institutions are located in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin....  (D-II)
Loyola University Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago is a private Jesuit research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1870 under the title St...	Chicago, Illinois	1870	Private/Catholic	15,951	Ramblers Loyola Ramblers The Loyola Ramblers are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Horizon League of the NCAA Division I...	Horizon League Horizon League The Horizon League is a ten school, NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in five of the Midwestern United States....  (D-I)
Ohio State University Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...	Columbus, Ohio Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...	1870	Public	55,014	Buckeyes Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...	Big Ten Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...  (D-I)
Quincy University Quincy University Quincy University a private liberal arts Catholic university in the Franciscan tradition. It is located in Quincy, Illinois and currently enrolls around 1,300 students.-History:...	Quincy, Illinois Quincy, Illinois Quincy, known as Illinois' "Gem City," is a river city along the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County. As of the 2010 census the city held a population of 40,633. The city anchors its own micropolitan area and is the economic and regional hub of West-central Illinois, catering a...	1860	Private/Catholic	1,169	Hawks	GLVC Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes at the NCAA's Division II level. Member institutions are located in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin....  (D-II)
Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University is a for-profit Christian university located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Grand Canyon Education . GCU was founded in 1949 as a non-profit liberal arts college. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. purchased Grand Canyon University in February 2004...	Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...	1949	Private/for-profit For-Profit School For-profit education refers to educational institutions operated by private, profit-seeking businesses....  Christian	25,000	Antelopes Grand Canyon Antelopes The athletic teams of Grand Canyon University are known as the Antelopes . Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Pacific West Conference...	PacWest Pacific West Conference The Pacific West Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II...  (D-II)

Conference arenas

School	Facility	Capacity
Ball State	John E. Worthen Arena John E. Worthen Arena John E. Worthen Arena is a basketball arena in Muncie, Indiana. The arena opened in the year 1992 and it is home to the Ball State University Cardinals men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams...	11,500
IPFW	Hilliard Gates Sports Center Hilliard Gates Sports Center Hilliard Gates Sports Center is a 2,700-seat multi-purpose arena in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It opened in 1981 and contains of space. It is home to the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Mastodons volleyball and women's basketball teams....	2,800
Lewis	Neil Carey Arena	1,075
Loyola-Chicago	Alumni Gym Alumni Gym (Loyola University Chicago) Alumni Gym was a 2,000 capacity structure on the campus of Loyola University Chicago. It served as the home of the Loyola Ramblers Men's and Women's Volleyball programs, as well as the Loyola University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. It is the former home of the Loyola Ramblers...	2,000
Ohio State	St. John Arena St. John Arena St. John Arena is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The arena was named for Lynn St. John, who served as Ohio State's men's basketball coach and athletic director until 1947....	13,276
Quincy	Pepsi Arena	2,000
Grand Canyon	Antelope Gymnasium	2,000