Tennessee Boys Volleyball Seeks TSSAA Sanctioning
The Tennessee Boys Volleyball Association is asking TSSAA member schools to commit to boys volleyball teams to reach sanctioning.
Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Volleyball
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The Tennessee Boys Volleyball Association is asking every TSSAA member school to commit to a boys volleyball team. Sanctioning requires 68 schools, or 15 percent of TSSAA member schools, to field or commit to a team.
Why it matters
Every year boys get cut from basketball, football or lacrosse, and many stop playing school sports altogether. Sanctioning would give boys a sanctioned spring option for competition within the TSSAA system.
Thirty schools currently field boys volleyball programs and 71 are actively involved or interested, against the 68-school threshold required for TSSAA sanctioning. Whether enough schools will formally commit remains unresolved.
The players
Tennessee Boys Volleyball Association
The association is the organization seeking TSSAA sanctioning of boys volleyball in Tennessee.
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA)
The TSSAA is the state body that governs interscholastic athletics for Tennessee's member schools and would decide sanctioning.
The details
A school counts toward the 68 by issuing formal intent to field a team once the sport is sanctioned, or by fielding a team of at least six athletes that plays at least one match this spring, and a play day with a nearby school is enough. The TSSAA Board of Control discussed sanctioning in June.
Timeline
June: TSSAA Board of Control discussed sanctioning boys volleyball.
May 7 and 8: Tennessee Boys Volleyball Association Invitational State Tournament held in West Tennessee.
Season Trajectory
Boys volleyball participation rose 77.55 percent over the past decade according to NFHS counts, and 29 states now sanction the sport. Four of Tennessee's eight neighboring states, including Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri and North Carolina, already sanction it.
A school that issues formal intent to field a team once sanctioned counts toward the 68 needed, so athletic directors weighing a commitment now face a concrete decision. Boys cut from basketball, football or lacrosse would gain a sanctioned spring option if the threshold is met.
The takeaway
Whether Tennessee adds boys volleyball will depend on how many schools commit before the 68-school threshold is reached. Schools already counting toward it can track sanctioning as the decision moves forward.
Further reading
For more on the sport's growth, see Volleyball coverage across the state.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Chattanoogan.
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