July 19, 2024
Invite-only tournament set for June 7-10, 2025 in Mesa, AZ
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In the wake of its wildly successful TC NIT volleyball event in Kansas City, MO., over President’s Day Weekend, the volleyball division at Triple Crown Sports is pleased to announce the debut of its Summer NIT, which will be held June 7-10, 2025 at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, AZ.
Competition for age groups 13u through 17u will be stoked with a seven-match guarantee, starting with Power Pool matchups and continuing through bracket play. Invitations will be based on a number of factors, including recent tournaments finishes, current standing in TC’s US Club Rankings metric and results from the 2025 TC NIT, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary and is widely embraced as the most compelling and competitive event on the calendar by the club volleyball world.
A wide range of college programs will be on-site for recruiting purposes, and D-I coaches will direct a number of College Camps on June 10, another opportunity for student-athletes to build skills and relationships to assist their preparation for the next level.
The Summer NIT event will invite the Top 32 clubs in the 2024 US Club Rankings, who will be eligible to send their No. 1 team in the 13u-17u age divisions. Invites will also include teams who finish in the Top 16 of the Elite Division at the TC NIT in KC in 14u through 17u, and the Top 8 13u teams.
If a club is in the Top 16 in the country, they may send their second teams if that team has qualified for USAV Nationals. Loyalty Invites are based on clubs who have supported TC Volleyball since 2013 and will be contacted by event director Jared Rudiger.
There will be an application process for the at-large berths, with more details rolling out in the following weeks.
"We are pleased to announce another outstanding invite-only opportunity for teams to showcase their talents,” said Jared Rudiger, director of volleyball at Triple Crown Sports. “The Summer NIT will feature a competitive environment which entails power pools, cash prizes and a qualification process to be accepted into the tournament. This new event will replicate many of the aspects that teams, spectators and college coaches have come to love about the Triple Crown NIT in Kansas City."
The Summer NIT is aimed at giving teams and programs a well-timed opportunity to elevate play just ahead of their national championship journeys through USAV and AAU. Triple Crown Sports has been engaged in deep research on the best option to add to its tournament roster and has discussed this path with USAV clubs and regions, LOVB, LOVB clubs, 3Step, 3Step clubs, JVA clubs and AAU-affiliated clubs. The Summer NIT will also function as a terrific stand-alone event for teams looking to conclude their season in a high-energy environment.
“Triple Crown Sports has called Mesa, Arizona home to their world class diamond sports for many years and continue to play a vital role in our mission to become the premiere sports destination of the Southwest,” said Lance Fite, Vice President of Sports at Visit Mesa. “We are deeply honored to host the Summer NIT Volleyball event and welcome the nation's top teams and their families into our great city."
About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing youth, high school and college events for more than 40 years. TCS runs both the postseason WNIT basketball event and produces the men’s and women’s DI Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering a “WNIT” concept event in D-I volleyball (NIVC), which debuted in 2017. Triple Crown’s PV College Challenge features more than 10 of the top D-I college softball teams in the country each year in Puerto Vallarta, MX. Anchored by the 1,100-team Colorado 4th of July event, TCS fastpitch tournaments draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. TCS produces one of the largest youth baseball events in the world with the 650-team Omaha SlumpBuster during the College World Series. The Triple Crown Volleyball NIT has become the top-recruited club volleyball event in the country each February when 575 teams compete in Kansas City, MO.
About Arizona Athletic Grounds
Arizona Athletic Grounds is proud to extend its partnership with Triple Crown Sports and excited to host this fantastic new event at our facility. Our mission is to be at the forefront of youth sports, and the opportunity to continue building world-class events out of our world-class facilities here in Mesa with the premier sports organization that Triple Crown is, is something we look forward to for many years to come.
