The Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League announced Tuesday that Franklin College will become the league's 11th member for the 2027 season.
"We're thrilled to join the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League and to provide our men's volleyball program with a competitive, well-aligned conference home," Franklin athletic director Lance Marshall said. "The MCVL is filled with institutions that value excellence, growth and the student-athlete experience, and we're excited for the opportunity to compete, build rivalries and continue elevating Franklin College men's volleyball."
Franklin becomes the seventh school to be added by the MCVL in the 2020s. Mount Union joined in 2020; Baldwin Wallace, Wabash and Wittenberg in 2021; Calvin in 2023; and Spalding in 2024. Adrian, Mount St. Joseph, Olivet and Trine had all joined prior to that and remain members of the league.
"We look forward to a long association with Franklin," MCVL commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen said. "The MCVL has seen great growth in recent years. That growth and the league's increased competitive stature in Division III men's volleyball make us a rising star in the sport."
The MCVL had 14 members in 2016 and 2017, but next winter will be the largest membership number since those two years. Competitive balance has been a major story in the history of the league, especially over the last few years. Four different MCVL schools have won or shared regular-season and/or tournament championships the last four seasons.
"First, we want to thank the coaches and administrators for accepting us into the MCVL," Griz volleyball coach Dillon Taylor said. "We are thrilled that our athletes will have the opportunity to compete in an elite conference with other schools from the Midwest. When we founded our program, this was a big step in the process, so we are thrilled to make that a reality next season."
Franklin men's volleyball is in just its second year as a varsity sport.
The MCVL is a single-sport conference with its membership from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (Adrian, Calvin, Olivet and Trine), the Ohio Athletic Conference (Baldwin Wallace and Mount Union), the North Coast Athletic Conference (Wabash and Wittenberg), the HCAC (Mount St. Joseph)and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Spalding).
