Lincoln College to offer men's club volleyball

[January 22, 2014]  Lincoln College Athletic Director Dave Klemm has announced the approval to form a men's club volleyball team at the college. Current women's volleyball head coach Mark Tippett will assume the head coach's position and has already begun the recruiting process.

"Ever since I began coaching at Lincoln College," Tippett says, "male students on campus who played in high school or who just like the game have asked me about having a team."

Now, beginning in the spring of 2015, they will get that chance to play.

Klemm says about the new program: "We are very excited to offer more opportunities for our students. We feel Mark will do an excellent job recruiting student-athletes, as he does with his women's team. We're very excited."

According to Tippett, the schedule will consist mainly of junior varsity and varsity teams from four-year colleges and universities, as well as entering open club events at area universities. The only other Illinois two-year school that currently offers men's volleyball is the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. Four NCAA Division II programs and four NAIA programs in Illinois also offer men's volleyball.

While Tippett continues building his roster most of his efforts will be focused in the Chicago and St. Louis Metro-East areas.

According to the IHSA website, 192 high school programs offered boys volleyball in 2012-13. The number has steadily increased from just 73 teams when the IHSA began recognizing boys volleyball in 1992.

Lincoln College currently offers 18 men's and women's varsity sports and competes at the NJCAA Division II level. The college is a member of the Mid-West Athletic Conference.

[Text from file received from Jeff Nelson, Lincoln College sports information director]