TRAFFORD, Pa. - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) has announced that it will sponsor men's volleyball as an NCAA Division III sport, beginning in the 2024-25 academic year.

With the addition of men's volleyball, which the PAC Presidents' Council unanimously approved at its December meeting, the number of conference-sponsored championship sports will increase to 24 (13 men, 11 women).

"The addition of men's volleyball as a conference spring sport beginning in 2024-25 is another key step towards the PAC mission of being one of the elite Division III conferences in the nation," said PAC Commissioner Joe Onderko. "I am grateful to our Presidents' Council for their visionary leadership in identifying this growth sport as a new conference sport offering. We look forward to integrating men's volleyball under the PAC umbrella of sports over the next few years in preparation for our first competitive season in the spring of 2025."

There are currently three PAC schools fielding men's volleyball teams in Geneva, Saint Vincent and Thiel, who currently compete as affiliate members in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) and will transition to the PAC when league play begins in 2024-25.

Since this summer, Chatham and Bethany have announced plans to begin programs in the 2023-24 year and at the Presidents' Council meeting, Grove City confirmed its intentions to start men's volleyball in 2024-25.

With six programs committed, the PAC meets the minimum six-team requirement for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Men's volleyball is played in the spring, with the Division III regular season running through early April and the NCAA Tournament finishing in late April.

In 2022, there were 11 conferences in Division III which received automatic bids to the 16-team NCAA Tournament. When the PAC begins play in the spring of 2025, a full round-robin schedule will be played before competing in the conference tournament to determine the winner of the PAC's automatic bid.