Oregon volleyball coach Jim Moore was disappointed when he learned an additional scholarship wouldn’t be granted to the women’s volleyball program.
The scholarship, which would have taken effect in 2006-07, didn’t affect Moore’s recruitment plans for next season. But he considered the extra scholarship last season when the NCAA Board of Directors voted to increase scholarship limits for volleyball and two other women’s sports.
“We were sort of counting on it, but it didn’t happen,” Moore said.
The use of a libero, an essentially full-time player, has increased in recent years. Yet the program doesn’t have a scholarship for that position.
“A defensive specialist had traditionally been the walk-ons, and we didn’t add a scholarship,” Moore said.
In the recently completed fall season, Oregon freshman libero Katie Swoboda played an integral role as she finished second on Oregon’s single-season list for digs in a season with 448.
The scholarship increase vanished after Division I delegates at an NCAA convention in Indianapolis decided to reverse the earlier decision by the NCAA Board of Directors.
Originally, women’s volleyball received one extra scholarship and cross country, track and gymnastics gained two in legislation passed last spring.
Soccer was the only sport to gain additional scholarships.
Delegates narrowly rejected the scholarships. Voters needed 62 percent, or five-eighths majority, to reject the scholarships. Volleyball (63.55 percent), gymnastics (62.88 percent) cross-country and track (63.32 percent) were denied increases.
Volleyball didn’t have a representative at the conference, which may have had an effect, Moore said.
Soccer’s scholarships passed with 60.57 percent opposition. Arizona State sent a soccer representative, senior associate athletic director Sandy Hatfield-Clubb. She made a speech mentioning the number of soccer injuries and amount of players necessary to have teams.
Oregon soccer coach Tara Erickson, who enters her second season next fall, is working with Oregon’s administration to determine how the additional scholarships will be implemented. It may be a case of one at a time or both.
“The longer I’m here, the better we’d be able to use these scholarships in recruiting,” Erickson said.
For soccer, where injury rates may rival those in football, Erickson said additional players can be a huge benefit. Oregon had its share of injuries last season with three season-ending injuries and numerous bumps and bruises.
“I think it just depends on that rash of injuries,” Erickson said. “A lot of soccer injuries tend to be season-ending injuries.”
Both Moore and Erickson discounted critics’ contentions that additional scholarships would allow dynasties like USC and UCLA to stockpile talent. Both said players will often go to their choice school even if they have to walk on to do it.
“If they have that dream and they want to do it, they will do it anyway,” Moore said.
Another section of critics suggested small schools would need to find extra funding. For schools that don’t fully fund women’s programs, this may be a wake-up call, Erickson said.
“This may be a reminder to make it more equitable,” she said.
Contact the sports reporter at [email protected]