Volleyball Hall of Fame gaining popularity

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Volleyball Hall of Fame is slowly transforming itself from a small room with some memorabilia to what it hopes will one day be an interactive museum that will rival Cooperstown.

The VBHF currently is located in a small building in Holyoke, Mass., the birthplace of volleyball. The idea to create a hall of fame was conceived in 1971, and it has changed quite a bit in the 26 years since.

"We literally started out with a closet," Hall President Raymond Evans said. "It was just a room with a glass door where we showed volleyball artifacts."

Since its humble early years, the VBHF has experienced constant growth. During the Hall of Fame Classic during the weekend, it announced Holyoke will give the VBHF a $187,000 grant.

The bulk of the money will be used to relocate the VBHF to a larger facility. But perhaps more importantly, some of the grant will be used to start a feasibility study about building an interactive museum that will be the VBHF's permanent home.

The new complex is just in the planning stages, but it is clear there will be much emphasis put on the interactive aspect. The new VBHF complex will have indoor and outdoor courts in addition to a large Epcot Center-esque sphere that will house memorabilia.

While the VBHF longs for the respect given to other halls, it doesn't want to have the sacred aura that surrounds places like Cooperstown.

"We want to get away from that," Evans said. "Volleyball is going to have to draw a different crowd.

"We don't want to be the Baseball Hall of Fame," he added. "We feel volleyball is played at a totally different level. It reaches a lot more people."

Volleyball is a tremendously popular sport in the United States, but it has struggled to gain media attention. The goal of VBHF is to further legitimize the game as a money-making sport and possibly be a catalyst for more media exposure.

"It's important for volleyball," 1994 VBHF inductee and Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said. "A hall of fame for any sport means acknowledging excellence within the sport. The new hall can only do good things for the game."

Before these dreams become reality, the VBHF will need a good report from its feasibility study. It will take substantial funds to run the proposed facility. It is probable the VBHF will receive a $230,000 grant from the Massachusetts' legislature this year, but that is a far cry from the $25 million the legislature is giving to the nearby Basketball Hall of Fame.

The VBHF has come a long way from its closet days, but it still has work to do before Holyoke will be mentioned in the same breath as Cooperstown.

"We're out of a crawl and up to our knees," Evans said. "We're trying to walk, but we are not ready to run yet."