“We are thrilled to welcome men’s volleyball to Illinois College’s excellent athletics program,” said Mike Snyder, director of athletics. “The addition of men’s volleyball is a great way to expand our reach into new markets. I look forward to seeing the growth of men’s volleyball at Illinois College.”

The NCAA added a Division III men’s volleyball championship in 2012. There are just over 100 programs nationally competing in the sport at the Division III level. The sport is experiencing tremendous growth.

Boys’ volleyball at the high school level continues to grow nationally and Jacksonville is uniquely positioned between two major recruiting areas for the sport in Chicago and St. Louis. The State of Illinois had 229 high school programs competing for a state title in 2019 and 43 programs in Missouri were competing at this level.

With a competition season that runs from January to April, the IC men’s volleyball program will debut early in 2021. In August, it was announced that Jim Hunstein, a longtime coach in the St. Louis area, had been selected to lead the new program. He will begin recruiting for Illinois College in the upcoming months before officially beginning his duties on the Hilltop later this year.