Honorees

Springfield College

Court of Honor 1996

To honor the distinguished association between Springfield College and the sport of volleyball, the Volleyball Hall of Fame awards the College with its Court of Honor recognition.

Celebrating its 101 year association with the sport, no other college or university has had a longer history and greater impact on volleyball than Springfield College.

The Court of Honor was established in 1988 to honor an organization or team for its significant contributions and commitment to the sport of volleyball.

William G. Morgan, an 1894 graduate of Springfield College (then the International YMCA Training School) invented volleyball in 1895 at the Holyoke YMCA. At the first public demonstration of Morgan’s game of “mintonette” in 1896 at the College, Springfield professor Alfred Thompson “A.T.” Halsted suggested the name change to “volley ball” (then two words) and it was readily adopted.

In the years that followed, educators from Springfield College taught and introduced the game throughout the world in various schools and YMCA’s. Today many Springfield College alumni continue to teach, coach, and officiate volleyball across the country.

Springfield College has supported a men’s team since the mid 1940’s and in 1951 Springfield won the National Collegiate Championship. With Tom Hay as coach, Springfield started the first New England collegiate volleyball tournament, New England and collegiate volleyball leagues, and championships in the late 60’s and 70’s. Hay’s teams also participated in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship in 1971, 1974, and 1976.

Each year the College and the Hall of Fame co-host the Volleyball Hall of Fame Classic, a tourney featuring top collegiate men’s teams. In 1995, Springfield College and the Hall of Fame hosted the NCAA Men’s Championship at the Springfield Civic Center.

Springfield’s men’s and women’s teams have enjoyed considerable success. Last spring, the men’s team was ranked first in the final USA Today / Mizuno Division III poll and the women’s team has posted an all time 556-212-2 record entering the 1996 campaign.