By: Devin Malast and Lorenzo Gaytan Jr
Athletes, parents, coaches and donors came together at the Union Bank Building in downtown Long Beach for the first annual men’s volleyball gala on Feb. 24.
The gala featured live music, fancy dress and guest speakers with tickets going for $175. Supporters of Long Beach State men’s volleyball came to raise money for student-athletes tuition and living expenses.
“The driving force behind (the collective) is mainly to make sure the student-athletes have somewhat of an equal playing field to most of the student-athletes across the country,” Alan Knipe, men’s volleyball head coach, said.
As the No. 2 ranked men’s volleyball team in the nation, the Men’s Volleyball Collective hopes to fill the gap caused by the program’s limited scholarships. With only 4.5 scholarships available for the program, the Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball Collective, with Ryan Bloom at the head, is looking to cover $700,000 in academic costs.
“Other schools are starting to do this collective thing and we want to be ahead,” Bloom said. “We’re already the leader in volleyball and we want to keep that leadership position.”
Knipe spoke about how the collective is going to put the program in a good situation, allowing his student-athletes to leave the institution without significant debt.
“We’re just very, very lucky as a program to have so many…community members and local businesspeople that want to be involved in helping the men’s volleyball program,” Knipe said.
To show support for the Collective, Knipe gave a speech at the gala, along with Tom Hopkins and Chris McGee. McGee currently anchors for Time Warner Cable SportsNet covering the Lakers, while Hopkins is a Long Beach Hall of Fame inductee.
The backing of parents and local organizations has created a solid foundation for the collective where LBSU’s top-ranked athletes can become marketable and seek opportunities like other Big West teams.
“Everyone knows we’re the Mecca for volleyball...we want to keep and maintain that perch,” Bloom said.
The gala was partially staffed and photographed by several of the men’s volleyball athletes, allowing donors to get to know the team and their players. Athletes also took part in the live auction, donating their skills to the highest bidder.
“I think that having the men’s volleyball players work(ing) the event is really cool because these donors are here to help us so we should make them as comfortable as possible,” Ben Braun, sophomore middle blocker, said.
With the first annual gala over and the Big West Championships around the corner, the program is now looking to the future. The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team will play Hawaii on March 15 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.