Why is the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship leaving Gulf Shores?

This weekend, 17 college beach volleyball teams from around the country descend on Gulf Shores for the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship tournament.

But the tournament, which since its inception eight years ago has been held in Gulf Shores, will move to Huntington Beach, Calif., for the 2025 and 2026 championships.

Why did the NCAA opt to move the tournament from Gulf Shores?

Michelle Russ, vice president of sales, sports, and events for Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports and Events, says that the tourism board, along with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), applied to host the tournament from 2023-2026. The NCAA opted to split the four-year bid between Gulf Shores and Huntington Beach.

“As the inaugural host destination of the NCAA Beach Volleyball National Championship, we have history, experience and a long-term relationship with the NCAA on our side,” Russ said in an email. “We will continue to maintain and grow our relationship with the NCAA and wish them the best of luck as the championship moves across the country next year.”

Kristin Fasbender, director of championships and alliances with the NCAA, previously told AL.com that the move to Huntington Beach was “not a reflection” on Gulf Shores’ ability to host the tournament.

“We have been thrilled with our time in Gulf Shores, but as part of the bid process for almost all NCAA sports, we were open to new locations to bring this great championship to other parts of the country,” Fasbender said.

Still, the loss of the championship for the next two years hurts Gulf Shores. The event brought nearly $1 million in direct economic impact to the area in 2023, Russ said. Plus, the exposure as a result of the tournament airing on national television is “invaluable,” she says. The tournament will air on the ESPN networks this year.

More than 11,000 people attended the 2023 championship, according to an NCAA site selection document.

Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events, the sports and events arm of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, applied to host the event in 2027 and 2028. The NCAA is expected to announce in October their choice to host the future iterations of the tournament.

Russ argues that GSOBT has a unique advantage in trying to win back the championship tournament: Since the championship has been held in Gulf Shores since it was started in 2016 (and prior to that for four years, before the NCAA recognized beach volleyball as a sport), GSOBT “worked hand-in-hand” with the NCAA to build the championship.

“It is so much more than bidding on hosting an event; it is about providing an outstanding championship venue, forming a local operating committee, supporting marketing and ticketing as well as coordinating media, volunteers and officials,” Russ says.

Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports and Events have spelled out in their bid to the NCAA what could be done to improve the championship on the local end, Russ says.