By Tayja Ghatahora
Fall 2023
Oklahoma State University is known for its record breaking athletics. A school where Saturdays revolve around football and the winter is strictly basketball. OSU has a team for nearly everything, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, wrestling, baseball, softball, and even equestrian sports. With that being said, it makes you wonder why there is no volleyball team. Granted we do have intramural teams but, we lack a collegiate team. According to the Oklahoman, “Oklahoma State University is the only Big 12 school that does not compete in volleyball”. (Oklahoman) That poses the question, why does Oklahoma State University not have a collegiate volleyball team?
With Oklahoma State University being the only school in the Big 12 that does not have a collegiate volleyball team does that show a lack in female representation in the sports world? Does it come down to the finances? Can we not fund a volleyball team? Does OSU simply not care about volleyball? Are there not enough people wanting to play on the collegiate level? Title IX conflicts? Lack of space for a court? So many questions surround the lack of a volleyball team. Oklahoma State Universtiy is know for their state of the art athletic programs. It would be important to keep in mind that OSU would put their all into a collegiate volleyball team.
Oklahoma State University attempted to comply with the Title IX guidelines. This title essentially states that for whatever male sport there needs to be a female sport that receives equal funding. This was a law that was established in 1972 so that there would be no discrimination based on sex. Due to this, OSU was faced with the choice of adding another female dominated sport. It came down to equestrian sports and volleyball. In 1999, Oklahoma State University ultimately decided to go with equestrian sports. When asked about their choice Oklahoma State stated that “volleyball isn’t that popular in Oklahoma.” (Oklahoman) Granted, volleyball is not a widely played sport in the region of Oklahoma compared to equestrian sports. Only 94 highschools in Oklahoma have volleyball teams. When you calculate the number of members per team, there are roughly a total of 1,600 high school volleyball players in the state of Oklahoma. The assistant athletic director Ann Baer was interviewed by the Oklahoman about their controversial choice, when talking about equestrian sports she said “you look at how popular the sport is, and there just aren’t the numbers in volleyball” (Oklahoman). The Oklahoman published this article in 1999, nearly 25 years later this is still a pressing issue. The want and wonder for a colligate volleyball team is still prevalent. If anything, there is more of a demand today compared to 25 years ago. However at the end of the day, it came down to the region that Oklahoma is in. Volleyball is just not very popular whereas equestrian sports have more traction here. That being said, the idea of Oklahoma State University having a collegiate volleyball team is not to be ruled out.
Many students have expressed their want for a collegiate volleyball team. Bryan Urbach mentioned in the O’Colly how by adding a volleyball team, we in turn “would add about 16 athletes to the roster” (O’Colly). Volleyball is a sport that has only gained traction. Even the University of Oklahoma has a collegiate women’s volleyball team which makes that school more desirable to someone who wants to play volleyball in college. The online forum Volley Talk has even expressed interest over this issue. The user trojansc commented that they “were shocked to see Old Dominion add volleyball before Oklahoma State” (Volley Talk). Another user jojojo brought up an interesting take on the situation. They mentioned how we do not have a volleyball team yet we “have non-NCAA sports like flying(!) and rodeo” (Volley Talk). I personally thought that that comment made was a very good point. It seems like we have every sport imaginable here at OSU, just not volleyball.
I personally think that it would be a smart move for Oklahoma State to add a volleyball team. There is very clearly a demand for a team. It would also allow us to recruit more student athletes. We are already a Big 12 school with amazing athletics but, by adding a colligate volleyball team we could further expand our demographics. Our hockey team can’t even have practices on ice because we don’t have a rink, they have to travel all the way to Tulsa for practice and home games. Yet we don’t have a volleyball team. Oklahoma State also lacks a men’s soccer team. If we have to comply with Title IX, we could potentially add both so that we remain in balance of men and woman collegiate sports. Either way, I believe Oklahoma State Univeristy should add a collegiate women’s volleyball team in the near future.
Works Cited
Capps, Reilly. “Volleyball Not Exactly Spike-Tacular in State.” The Oklahoman, 3 Nov. 1999, http://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1999/11/03/volleyball-not-exactly-spike-tacular-in-state/62222783007/. Accessed 6 Nov. 2023.
Editor, Bryan Urbach Sports. “Column: OSU Should Add Men’s Soccer, Women’s Volleyball.” Ocolly.com, 1 Apr. 2013, http://www.ocolly.com/sports/column-osu-should-add-mens-soccer-womens-volleyball/article_ f50e441c-9b49-11e2-af67-001a4bcf6878.html. Accessed 6 Nov. 2023.
“Oklahoma St. Without a WVB Team. Why? | Volley Talk.” Volleytalk.proboards.com, volleytalk.proboards.com/thread/23676/oklahoma-st-wvb-team-why. Accessed 7 Nov. 2023.
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