Volleyball 2023
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 11:01 am
Indoor Volleyball has announced their 2023 schedule: https://goleathernecks.com/sports/women ... l/schedule
Normally not a big deal, but this is the first in the OVC and I wanted to take a look at the impact that moving to the OVC has made on travel in this sport (which is really where the cost savings will show up, I think...non-revenue sports).
I looked at last year's schedule, in the Summit League. We had a few situations that look like we probably did a "road trip" for games: Kansas City->Omaha->Denver; Fargo->Grand Forks; Vermillion->Brookings. Each one separated by no more than a couple days. So assuming we traveled from here, to KC, to Omaha, to Denver, then back home (rather than there and back individually), here's what the team covered in travel...
Total mileage - 10,560
Total hours - 165.75
Summit-only mileage - 6,296
Summit-only hours - 95.75
Now, looking at the OVC schedule, we don't have any "road trips" to save driving time/distance between nearby members, but overall the matches are closer...
Total mileage - 5,190
Total hours - 78
OVC-only mileage - 2,934
OVC-only hours - 50.5
So, purely from a conference schedule perspective, we're dropping our mileage traveled by about 47% and hours spent on the road by about 53%. The total numbers for the season are also about the same, but I know our OOC schedule will vary depending on who and where we play. For example in 2022 we had a three-match invitational in New Orleans, which added quite a bit of distance that year, whereas the furthest we go OOC this year is a 2-match invitational in Springfield, MO (Missouri State). So, comparing the conference-only time/distance is a bit more representative.
However you look at it, our athletics department is having to pay for about half as many miles of charter bus rentals, and our student athletes are spending about half as much time on the road getting to and from matches, which is going to be a pretty big deal for them, I think.
Normally not a big deal, but this is the first in the OVC and I wanted to take a look at the impact that moving to the OVC has made on travel in this sport (which is really where the cost savings will show up, I think...non-revenue sports).
I looked at last year's schedule, in the Summit League. We had a few situations that look like we probably did a "road trip" for games: Kansas City->Omaha->Denver; Fargo->Grand Forks; Vermillion->Brookings. Each one separated by no more than a couple days. So assuming we traveled from here, to KC, to Omaha, to Denver, then back home (rather than there and back individually), here's what the team covered in travel...
Total mileage - 10,560
Total hours - 165.75
Summit-only mileage - 6,296
Summit-only hours - 95.75
Now, looking at the OVC schedule, we don't have any "road trips" to save driving time/distance between nearby members, but overall the matches are closer...
Total mileage - 5,190
Total hours - 78
OVC-only mileage - 2,934
OVC-only hours - 50.5
So, purely from a conference schedule perspective, we're dropping our mileage traveled by about 47% and hours spent on the road by about 53%. The total numbers for the season are also about the same, but I know our OOC schedule will vary depending on who and where we play. For example in 2022 we had a three-match invitational in New Orleans, which added quite a bit of distance that year, whereas the furthest we go OOC this year is a 2-match invitational in Springfield, MO (Missouri State). So, comparing the conference-only time/distance is a bit more representative.
However you look at it, our athletics department is having to pay for about half as many miles of charter bus rentals, and our student athletes are spending about half as much time on the road getting to and from matches, which is going to be a pretty big deal for them, I think.