If the Penn State men's volleyball team qualifies for the Final Four in the two upcoming seasons, it will earn trips to Hawaii and California. But if the Nittany Lions qualify in 2006, they will have earned something even better -- the chance to compete for the national championship on their home court.

On Dec. 17, Penn State announced that it will host the 2006 NCAA Men's Volleyball National Collegiate Championship, to be held May 4 and 6 in Rec Hall. The 2006 tournament will be the fourth championship tournament held at Penn State as University Park was also the site for the 1982, 1986 and 2002 championships.

"We are delighted to be bringing the championship back here," Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley said. "We feel this is a great school for volleyball, both men's and women's, and we're very proud of our volleyball program. We are looking forward very much to hosting in 2006 and bringing four of the top teams in the country to Happy Valley."

Hosting the tournament brings more gains than potential home court advantage. The 2002 Championship brought an estimated $2.3 million in economic gains to the Centre County region. In addition, being a tournament site helps to attract the nation's top men's volleyball teams to Rec Hall for regular season games, as they are anxious to gain experience in the arena.

"It will help us with the draw of being able to go to a Midwest or a West Coast school saying, 'You'll get the chance to see what this whole travel bit is about,' " Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said. "We'll look at [bringing these teams in] for fall of 2004 and the 2005 season, and again for the fall of 2005 and the 2006 season. It helped Hawaii out -- you ask their coach and he'll say it was the smartest thing that they did [in 2002, when they won the national championship at Rec Hall]."

In addition, being a potential tournament site helps attract high school recruits to Penn State. This is not only because they could potentially have the opportunity to compete for the national title on their home court, but also because it demonstrates that volleyball holds an important role in the Penn State athletic community.

"In my eyes, it's more than telling a student athlete, 'There's a good chance that in the four years that you're here, you're going to be at home for a national championship,' " Pavlik said. "It's more along the lines of saying, 'Men's volleyball is healthy and vibrant and important enough to this university and athletic department that we're going to be in a leadership role.' "

According to Curley, Penn State was attractive to the NCAA selection committee because it has a quality event committee to organize the championship, because of the success of past championship events that it has hosted and because Rec Hall is one of the top venues for volleyball on the East Coast.

"You're hard pressed to find a better venue for volleyball than Rec Hall," Pavlik added. "It takes on a great environment that you wish any student athlete in any sport could experience."

As for the student athletes, they are excited at the prospect of being able to contend for the national title right at home.

"The team is definitely excited," said outside hitter Matt Proper, who will be a senior in 2006. "I know the younger guys are really looking forward to this. Obviously, it's a couple years down the road, but it is exciting that we can have it here in 2006."