UNK and other Central Region programs continue to operate under the longstanding NCAA Division II volleyball regionalisation model, a system built to ease travel burdens but one that leaves many top teams on the outside looking in. This model divides the country into set regions, meaning nationally ranked teams can miss the postseason because their specific region is overloaded with powerhouse programs.
Rick Squires, UNK volleyball coach, said year after year really good teams are left out simply because of where they are located.
“The Central Region is loaded,” Squires said. “Nationally ranked teams do not get in the field of 64 and it is really hard to justify that.”
Marc Bauer, UNK athletic director, said that the reasoning behind regionalisation is rooted in geographic and financial realities.
“The purpose of regionalisation is to help with cost savings,” Bauer said. “Regionalisation means that you compete and play against opponents that are demographically fairly close.”
However, Bauer also said the model can be unfair when strong teams are clustered in one region.
“Not all the best teams are getting to the national tournament,” Bauer said.
Squires has offered a concrete alternative. His proposal would reduce automatic regional bids from eight to six and open up 16 at-large spots, giving deserving, but regionally unlucky teams a fair shot.
“This would allow them to maintain their commitment to a regional emphasis without leaving highly deserving teams out of the tournament,” Squiers said.
Bauer acknowledged that while such a change might sound appealing, it is nearly impossible.
“Advocating for change has to go through the national committee and there are too many schools that will not vote for it,” Bauer said.
Bauer said many smaller or private Division II institutions rely on regionalisation to control travel costs, making widespread reform unlikely.
For now, Division II volleyball remains locked in a postseason structure where geography can outweigh ability and highly competitive teams can be sidelined not because of performance, but because of where they are located.
UNK and Wayne State no longer schedule regular-season matchups due to the delicate balance in regional rankings. A single game can heavily influence tournament seeding, making early-season contests between the two schools a high-risk move. Both programs have opted to avoid these games to protect their postseason positioning, despite the appeal such a rivalry would have for fans and players alike.
“The last time we played Wayne State, that one game could have shifted both our postseason opportunities,” Squires said. “We’ve stepped back to avoid putting our teams in that position early in the year.”
