With the Premier Volleyball League going pro, the league can no longer hold its anticipated Collegiate Conference.
For that, Sports Vision Management Group Inc. will bring back The V-League as the host of collegiate teams and student-athletes.
And for SVMGI, this is going back to their roots, since the V-League started back in 2004 as a collegiate tournament.
“We will still have the collegiate division and it’s going back to the V-League. As you know it all started it there, both men’s and women’s division,” said SVMGI President Ricky Palou during Tuesday’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association, powered by Smart, has Upstream Media as official webcast partner, and presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, MILO, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
During the inaugural season of the V-League, six teams joined — namely University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, San Sebastian College-Recoletos, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and Far Eastern University.
Up until 2011, the V-League focused on collegiate teams before opening the competition up for corporate clubs and military teams.
The Spikers’ Turf held its first Collegiate Conference in 2015.
But now that the PVL has gone pro, the league has shifted its focus to club teams, currently set at 11 plus guest team Philippine Army.
Varsity teams can still join pro leagues as per the Games and Amusement Board. But they need to secure special guest licenses from the government agency while getting clearance from their school first.
UAAP student-athletes, on the other hand, cannot join the PVL as individuals as it will forfeit their eligibility.
The NCAA and other collegiate leagues have secured a partnership with GAB which will allow their student-athletes to get SGLs as long as they receive clearance the school and the league.
The V-League is looking to return in 2022.
