Club Background and student leadership

The MSU Men’s Volleyball Club is a self-funded registered student organization at Michigan State University, relying on exceptional student leadership and talent to organize and operate season-long practice and play for MSU students.

The MSU club was founded in the late 1950s and rejuvenated in 1987 by MSU students. The club currently has four teams, MSU Green, MSU White, MSU Posse, and MSU Greenhorns, all of which practice in the IM West Sports Arena on campus. The top team, MSU Green, is coached by Sante Perrelli, who has been at the helm for over 30 years.

The club also hosts the Back to the Hardwood Classic, founded in 1990, and regarded as the largest club-sponsored intercollegiate men’s club tournament in the country. The MSU club is a founding member of the BTMVA (Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association – MIVA), one of the nation's most competitive and respected intercollegiate club volleyball conferences. Together with hundreds of teams around the country, MSU Green and MSU White are perennial participants in the NCVF National Championship Tournament

The Club has open gym hours in the evenings throughout the fall at the IM Sports West Arena. Team tryouts are typically held at the IM Sports West in late September or early October each year. Club practice sessions take place 3 to 4 times per week during the pre-season, focusing on skill development, rules of the game, team placement, and competitive drills/play. Tryouts are open to any MSU student.

On January 1 of each year, the official NCVF and MIVA club season begin. Typically the teams practice at night and engage in weekend competitions from February to April. Club teams play against other eligible collegiate club teams in MIVA league play and club-sponsored competitions, all culminating in BTMVA, Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, and NCVF Championship tournaments. Friendship and comradery with club players from other schools have been a mainstay experience for  MSU club participants.  And over the years, many MSU teams have traveled out of the region over spring break to participate in friendly match play and volunteer with local charities and civic programs focused on inner-city youth.

 Unlike most states in the Midwest, Michigan still does not sponsor boys’ interscholastic high school volleyball. Notwithstanding, club members work hard to learn the sport and teach it and have achieved notable individual and team accomplishments.  Since 1988, MSU Green has achieved above a .750 match win percentage, earning ten Top 10 National Championship finishes 9 BTMVA Championships, 7 MIVA Championships, and a top 48 ranking for every year since the inception of the national poll. In addition to practice and play, MSU players sponsor player clinics for kids – from the inner-city of Detroit to the shores of Lake Michigan. The 50 team Spartan Back to the Hardwood Tournament, established in 1990, draws club teams and referees from throughout the USA and Canada. And each December, the club hosts its “Holiday Tournament” bringing together club alumni and friends, with proceeds of the event donated to local charities like the Greater Lansing Food Bank.

The club, its coaches, volunteers, and community members take great pride in teaching the game and its values to any student willing to make a commitment. The club has produced MVPs and club All-Americans at every position, a US Olympic Men's "B" team member, a Gold Medal-winning USA Volleyball Junior National Team coach, an NCAA Division 3 National Championship coach, numerous AVP and professional beach volleyball players, an MHSAA State Championship coach, esteemed NCAA, NAIA and international coaches, junior coaches, certified USAV referees, prominent volleyball administrators and many, many lifetime supporters of the sport.

Commitment to Excellence and Club operations

As a self-funded registered student organization on campus, the club elects leaders each year who are responsible to build a budget, organize facility access, plan events, work with university administrators, coaches, and referees, engaging in community outreach, maintaining alumni relations, and generally build a full season of participation that is student-centered. Although receiving occasional support from ASMSU, the club meets budget goals by self-enterprising, collecting club dues, receiving alumni donations through the MSU Development Fund, and securing in-kind donations and support from community members and vendors who support the club’s mission

The club is comprised of beginning through advanced student-athletes, representing a diverse cross-section of cultural, ethnic, academic, and athletic backgrounds. While many members come from Michigan and surrounding states, some come from far away nations where volleyball is as popular as any other sport. The club embraces diversity within its mission to serve student-athletes who seek an alternative and legitimate competitive volleyball athletic opportunity at MSU, proudly represent the university in intercollegiate athletic competitions, and glean the benefits and values of a team “sport for a lifetime.”

Academic excellence, time management, self-governance, accountability, and commitment to team values are passed down from generation to generation, making the MSU Men’s Volleyball Club one of the most dynamic, respected, and emulated student organizations in the country. The club participant graduation rate and placement into graduate studies and professional employment rivals any sports team on campus.

The best alumni ever

Worldwide, the MSU men's volleyball alumni family includes teachers, doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers, economists, business executives, career military, scientists, and many other professionals. Former club members can also be found working in business throughout Europe, pursuing volunteer missionary work in Africa, and spearheading agricultural, medical, technological, and entrepreneurial efforts in China and throughout the Pacific, the Middle East, and North and South America.

MSU Men’s Volleyball Club alumni live and work in large and small communities throughout America, making notable contributions to their families and civic life. Despite geographic diversity, MSU alumni stay actively engaged by offering club graduates counseling, job opportunities, friendship, and a sense of MSU family that lasts long after graduation. Alumni also frequently stay connected with former teammates and club alumni from other schools, helping sustain what sports participation can be all about. Each year, MSU club volleyball Alumni and friends travel back to the “Banks of the Red Cedar” to renew friendships, meet the teams, participate in charitable events, golf outings, tailgate parties, pasta dinners, and of course, to play and watch volleyball.

For more information about this award-winning organization, visit our “Contact Us” page!

Go Green! Go, White! Go State!