The highly successful men's volleyball team will soon be in the mighty Big 10 Conference, battling with super-spikers from the likes of Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. Right?

Wrong. You see, there is no Big 10 varsity league for the Lions to join. In fact, only Ohio State currently fields a varsity team. Penn State, therefore, will remain in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association until there are enough varsity teams in the Big 10 for the formation of a league.

"I really don't see it affecting us a whole lot," Coach Tom Peterson said. "I'm sure that we'll be in the EIVA and that's what we'll be concerned about."

At least four more programs -- in addition to the Lions and Buckeyes would need to go varsity for a Big 10 league to be established, and that will probably take years. With the addition of national-power Penn State to the Big 10, however, the process could be accelerated.

"Everybody in the Big 10 is excited about the fact that Penn State's coming into the Big 10 conference, because that's a boost for men's volleyball," said Sante Perrelli, an attorney who volunteers as the coach for the Michigan State club volleyball team. "Penn State has a tremendous national reputation in men's volleyball and ... it adds to the credibility of other Big 10 universities asking for more recognition in men's volleyball. And that's why there's so much excitement."

"All the teams want volleyball to grow right now," Peterson said. "And if there's anything we can do to increase growth within the Big 10 ... we'll be the first to help out."

Ohio State coach Pete Hansen, however, is not so sure that there will be a Big 10 league anytime soon, even with Penn State.

"At this point in time, I'm not seeing any movement to indicate that that's going to happen," he said. "So, I guess I'm kind of being pessimistic in saying I really don't know if it's going to take place. But I certainly would like it to."

Last November, Michigan State sponsored a Big 10 collegiate club invitational tournament and caucus. The caucus was a two-hour conference with representatives from each Big 10 university.

A number of resolutions calling for "additional support for the promotion of men's volleyball towards varsity status" were adopted, Perrelli said.

"It was a unanimous resolution by the Big 10 university men's volleyball club organizations calling for serious consideration towards varsity status.

"We just wanted to have a unified effort. We thought that our voice would be louder and more clear if we did it together and so that was basically the purpose of this caucus."

It was also decided at the caucus that a Big 10 club league would be established and begin play in 1991, Perrelli said. The league will work in connection with the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association's club division. It is not known yet if Penn State or 0hio State will also field teams for the club league.

"There is a possibility," Peterson said. "I mean, if there's a chance of somebody letting us do that within our administration that would be great, but I don't foresee that We could spend money right now outside of what we're doing now."

"I would think not," said Richard J. Lucas, an assistant athletic director. "That's not a desirable thing, incidentally. We already have a varsity men's volleyball program here. There's no reason why we'd have a club program also."

The biggest consideration for a program that wants to become varsity is, of course, money. And the debate in this area is whether or not volleyball programs are capable of turning a profit.

"(I want) to dispel the proposition that this is another non-revenue-producing sport," Perrelli said. "Although it may not be a big revenue-producing sport, we believe that they can be self-sufficient, particularly if other schools go varsity. In that instance, there's no reason that we shouldn't be self-sufficient."

"Revenue is a tough thing to discuss," Lucas said. "Very few programs are revenue-producing. That's a very difficult thing for any program to do other than your really visible visible programs such as men's basketball and football."

Hansen wasn't thrilled with the overall economic aspects of Penn State's move to the Big 10.

"Why the Big 10 went for it, I don't know that," he said. "The Big 10 is one of the premier conferences in the country. They don't need to be adding more schools, it seems to me. It's not that Penn State is a sub-par university compared to the others, but what are they going to bring to our conference that we don't already have?

"I think it's going to put more pressure on the minor sports than it does the big sports. The football and basketball (teams), they can travel anywhere, anytime they want to. It's ... the men's gymnastics team or something from Minnesota that has to travel to State College. And that could take your whole budget to make one trip. That's where the impact's going to be."

Any major changes concerning men's volleyball will probably not occur for a few years, as athletic directors first deal with the transition of the major sports and the club teams slowly work their way towards varsity status.

"I would think that things will break down in probably like three years from now," Lucas said. "Only in the sense that people will be finding out where they stand, moreover than ... what's going on right now."