AVP PRO BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR AND NBC SPORTS GROUP ANNOUNCE MEDIA PARTNERSHIP

AVP PRO BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR AND NBC SPORTS GROUP ANNOUNCE MEDIA PARTNERSHIP

NBC Sports Group to Present More Than 17 Hours of

AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Coverage in 2015 on NBC and NBCSN

All AVP on NBC Telecasts to be Live Streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra

Costa Mesa, Calif. – April 6, 2015 – The AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and NBC Sports Group today announced a media rights agreement for AVP tournaments to be televised on NBC and NBCSN, and live streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra.

The agreement returns the country’s premier professional beach volleyball tour, entering its 33^rd year, to the network that first televised the AVP 25 years ago. It also marks the most comprehensive media partnership in Tour history and will include broadcast, cable and digital components for the first time.

“We are pleased to welcome the AVP back home on NBC,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “The AVP and beach volleyball have a long history with NBC Sports, and we will leverage the full collection of our broadcast, cable and online platforms of the NBC Sports Group to document the great stories, competition and personalities of the AVP’s athletes. With less than 500 days until the start of the Rio Olympics, we are excited to increase our coverage of this fan favorite Olympic sport.”

“We are very pleased to return the AVP Tour and its elite athletes to NBC Sports Group’s multiple platforms, and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership that brings the unparalleled excitement of AVP tournaments into fans’ living rooms on Sunday afternoons throughout the summer,” said AVP Managing Partner Donald Sun. “As the 2016 Rio Games approach, this comprehensive new partnership gives us the perfect platform to further showcase beach volleyball to a national audience.” 

The agreement calls for 17.5 hours of coverage in 2015, 10 on NBC and 7.5 on NBCSN, plus live streaming on NBC Sports Live Extra. Coverage will include the men’s and women’s finals of all seven regular-season tournaments. In addition, NBC and NBCSN will feature the finals and early-round coverage of an AVP-run tournament on the international FIVB (Federation International de Volleyball) Tour within the United States. Encore presentations of select telecasts will air on Universal Sports Network.

Coverage will run from May-September, beginning with the AVP’s season-opening event in New Orleans, La., over Memorial Day weekend. The AVP’s complete 2015 tour schedule can be found at avp.com. NBC Sports Group’s telecast schedule will be released at a later date.

The AVP is the exclusive domestic beach volleyball home of the nation’s top athletes, including  Olympic gold medalists Kerri Walsh-Jennings (2004, 2008, 2012), Phil Dalhausser (2008) and Todd Rogers (2008); Olympic silver medalist April Ross (2012); two-time Olympians Jake Gibb (2008, 2012) and Sean Rosenthal (2008, 2012); and Olympian Nicole Branagh (2008). The tour also features many up-and-coming stars who are helping build the future of the sport, such as Casey Patterson, Theo Brunner, Tri Bourne, Summer Ross, Emily Day, Lane Carico and 2014 Newcomers of the Year Trevor Crabb and Amanda Dowdy.

About the AVP

Established in 1983, the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) produces, markets and distributes volleyball events worldwide, including the popular AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. While promoting family-oriented events and supporting a healthy lifestyle, the AVP is best known for its world-class athletes, who have won numerous Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in the Olympic games. The AVP headquarters are in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Sand Volleyball Sweeps Day 2 of Blazer Duals

Sand Volleyball Sweeps Day 2 of Blazer Duals

AVP announces new stops to beach volleyball tour

Kerri Walsh Jennings, left, teammate April Ross, who won all seven AVP events last year, celebrate after winning the Manhattan Beach Open in Manhattan Beach on Aug. 17, 2014. (Thomas R. Cordova/Staff Photographer) 

By Phil Collin, phil.collin@langnews.com, @philcollin1 on Twitter

POSTED: 03/25/15, 1:49 PM PDT |

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Four new stops have been added to the Association of Volleyball Professionals 2015 season, but the venerable Manhattan Beach Open and the season-closing AVP Championships in Huntington Beach remain part of the tour.

The tentative schedule, announced Wednesday, opens in New Orleans on May 21 for the women and men. The tour will resume in August as many of the players vie for Olympic spots on the FIVB tour.

The season’s second stop is Seattle (Aug. 6-9), with Manhattan Beach the following weekend. The next three stops are scheduled to be Chicago (Aug. 27-30), Cincinnati (Sept. 3-6) and Huntington Beach (Sept. 10-13).

One additional stop, in the Northeast U.S., will be announced in the coming weeks, the AVP said.

The tour had seven stops last year, with Olympic hopefuls Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson combining to win four of them. On the women’s side, Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross won all seven tournaments without dropping a match.

AVP CEO Donald Sun reorganized the tour after it folded on the eve of the 2011 Manhattan Open.

“We are pleased with the progress we have made since 2012, and feel the strength of the 2015 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour schedule is a testament to our hard work and the proven appeal our sport has across the country,” Sun said. “As we enter a pre-Olympic year, this is undoubtedly a very important time for the AVP and beach volleyball.”

Cincinnati and Chicago have long been favorite stops for the players, though the tour has not been held in Chicago since 2009.

Seattle last held an event in 1990 and New Orleans was a tour stop in 1999.

This will be the 59th Manhattan Open for the men and 49th for the women. The event began in 1960.

Phil Dalhausser and Sean Rosenthal won the men’s Manhattan Beach Open last year and Walsh Jennings combined with Ross to win her record seventh Manhattan Beach title.

The FIVB World Series of Beach Volleyball is scheduled to be held in Long Beach from Aug. 18-23.

DiG Collegiate Sand volleyball poll 3/30/15

http://www.digbeachvolleyball.com/digbeachvolleyball.com/DiG_Poll.html

Sand Sessions with Sarah Agnew - Georgia State Athletics

Sand Sessions with Sarah Agnew - Georgia State Athletics

Gulf Coast Welcomes FSU Sand Volleyball to the Beach

Gulf Coast Welcomes FSU Sand Volleyball to the Beach

No day at the beach - Florida Atlantic is bringing the beach to campus.

Construction on FAU's new competition-ready sand volleyball courts is scheduled to be completed by the end of next week. (OwlAccess.com photo)

FAU spends $250,000 for sand volleyball courts which should be ready to use shortly.

Originally published on 1/29/2015

by Chuck King

BOCA RATON - Florida Atlantic is bringing the beach to campus.

On Wednesday FAU began importing the 870 tons of sand that will complete it's sand volleyball courts.

The project, which is expected to cost $250,000, is scheduled to be completed on Feb. 6.

The NCAA recently voted to fully sanction sand volleyball as one of its championships. Adding a sand volleyball facility on campus is a move that will aid FAU with Title IX compliance, which requires schools to move toward equal financial support of men's and women's sports.

“Obviously, getting us set to play sand volleyball was one of the most economical choices we could make, and that wasn't the only reason we added it,” Executive Associate Athletic Director Melissa Dawson said. “If you look at the weather and where we are located, and all that, it makes sense for our climate and everything - so it was a perfect fit for us.”

Sand volleyball season begins in March, with the Owls' first-ever home match coming on March 11 against FIU. FAU hopes to host tournaments in the coming years.

Florida Atlantic first began its sand volleyball program four years ago. At the time the team was comprised almost entirely of players from its indoor volleyball team. Now, only two players, Lexi Rhein and Beth Shoaff, play on both teams.

The Owls had been practicing at local beaches and on some sand courts near the dorms.

The new facility, which is located next to the softball stadium, will feature three courts filled with olympic-quality sand trucked in from a sand mine in Moore Haven, Fla. Unlike regular beach sand, FIUB Olympic Specified Sand doesn't stick to competitors. When complete, the courts will have 18 inches of sand resting upon a customized drainage system.

The facility will feature berms on two side of the court for spectator seating and a grassy area for lawn chairs.

When not in use by the sand volleyball team, the courts will be available for FAU students to use.

“The more of the students that enjoy it, the more of a chance we have to get our students to come out and watch our team play,” Dawson said.

Around 50 schools across the nation sponsor sand volleyball, but that number is expected to rise quickly now that the NCAA fully recognizes the sport.

Only three Conference USA schools, FAU, FIU and UAB, currently sponsor the sport. Many Florida schools compete, including Florida St., Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville.