The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team got the No. 1 seed and the right to host the NCAA Division II West Region Tournament which starts on Thursday.

But they won’t be hosting the event at Coussoulis Arena. They will be playing the event in the auxilary gymnasium dubbed “The Den” which is adjacent to Coussoulis.

School administrators booked a B.B. King concert for Thursday at Coussoulis. And they did so knowing that the volleyball tournament was going to start that same date. The logic was that the arena doesn’t get to host many entertainment events other than WWE so it was a chance to showcase the facility to a different crowd and make some money at the same time.

Athletic director Kevin Hatcher assured the NCAA that The Den meets all the criteria for hosting an event of that magnitude. It is obviously taking his word for it.

There was a possibility of moving the event to Friday, Saturday and Sunday to play it in Coussoulis but the teams still wouldn’t be able to have a practice in the tournament venue which is mandatory. So they will be playing the whole thing in the Den, even though Coussoulis would be available Friday and Saturday.

It’s not the ideal situation but its better than the othe option which would be to give the event to the No. 2 seed UC San Diego, which is Cal State’s biggest rival. No doubt there will be some complaining teams and coaches. But Cal State earned the right to host on the court and no other team did so.

The Coyotes will open against the No. 8 seed Seattle Pacific, the runner-up out of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Share this