The 2021 DI women's volleyball tournament bracket will be announced Sunday, Nov. 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET in an ESPNU selection show. We are tracking the 32 teams that will already have a spot locked up for the tournament.
Of the 64 teams named to the championship field, 32 will be awarded automatic qualification via a conference championship. The remaining 32 championship participants will be selected at large.
Here are the 32 conferences who award automatic qualification and the 2021 champions:
| CONFERENCE | AUTOMATIC QUALIFIER |
|---|---|
| America East | UMBC (19-11) |
| American Athletic | UCF (25-6) |
| Atlantic Coast | Louisville (27-0) |
| Atlantic 10 | Dayton (25-5) |
| Atlantic Sun | FGCU (26-5) |
| Big East | Creighton (30-3) |
| Big Sky | Northern Colorado (24-6) |
| Big South | Campbell (21-9) |
| Big Ten | Wisconsin (25-3) |
| Big 12 | Texas (24-1) |
| Big West | Hawaii (21-6) |
| Colonial | Towson (26-4) |
| Conference USA | Western Kentucky (27-1) |
| Horizon | UIC (20-11) |
| Ivy | Brown (20-4) |
| MAC | Ball State (29-3) |
| MAAC | Fairfield (25-8) |
| MEAC | Howard (18-12) |
| Missouri Valley | Illinois State (19-13) |
| Mountain West | Boise State (24-10) |
| Northeast | Sacred Heart (19-9) |
| Ohio Valley | Southeast Missouri (26-7) |
| Pac-12 | Washington (24-4) |
| Patriot | Colgate (18-9) |
| SEC | Kentucky (24-4) |
| SoCon | The Citadel (14-11) |
| Southland | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19-9) |
| SWAC | Florida A&M (25-6) |
| Summit | South Dakota (20-9) |
| Sun Belt | South Alabama (25-6) |
| WAC | Utah Valley (16-12) |
| West Coast | BYU (27-1) |
About the AQs
Here's what to know about automatic qualifiers for the 2021 championship:
America East: UMBC won their second consecutive America East Volleyball Championship. They became the eighth team in nine seasons to win both the regular season and league title. UMBC finished 19-11 this season.
Atlantic 10: Dayton captured its league-record 15th Atlantic 10 Championship title Sunday with a straight-set win over Fordham.
Dayton improved to 25-5 overall and extended its winning streak to 19 matches ahead of the tournament.
Atlantic Sun: FGCU won the Atlantic Sun conference championship behind a double-double performance from Erin Shomaker. The victory marked the second time in four years, and overall, that FGCU has won the ASUN championship title. The first league title came in 2018
Atlantic Coast: Louisville clinched the sole possession of the ACC Conference Championship Wednesday night with its second win over Pitt this season. Claire Chaussee and Anna DeBeer combined for 31 kills in the win. The Cards are in the midst of the their best season in program history as they finished the season 28-0.
Big Sky: Northern Colorado took down Weber State in a five-set battle for the conference title. Mackenzie Harris led with 23 kills in the win as they clinched an AQ to the NCAA tournament. Northern Colorado finished the regular season 24-6.
Big South: Campbell won its first ever conference championship this season with a five-set win over top-seeded High Point. They are also the first team to beat High Point twice in a single season since 2018.
Colonial: Towson took down Elon in a reverse sweep after falling behind 2-0 on the match. They are now the first team in the CAA to win three titles in a row since George Mason did so from 1992-96, a run of five. Top-seeded Towson is the first overall number one seed to win the league title with no major award winners as voted by the coaches.
Conference USA: For the seventh time in the last eight seasons, WKU won the Conference USA Tournament. Five of those victories have come over Rice, including this year's four-set win.
Horizon: UIC captured its first conference championship in program history as the fourth-seeded Flames defeated second-seeded Northern Kentucky in a five-set thriller. Five Flames finished with 10 or more kills, the first time this season UIC has had five players in double figures.
Ivy League: Brown volleyball earned its first Ivy League championship since 2001. The Bears' 11 Ivy League wins tied the program record for wins in a conference play season with the 2001 year. They finished the regular season with their first 20-win season since 1998 and with the fewest losses in school history. They finished 20-4 overall and 13-1 in the conference.
MAAC: Fairfield clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament with a sweep over Rider. This is the fifth time in seven years and the 12th time in program history that Fairfield won the conference title.
MEAC: Howard claimed its sixth MEAC title in seven seasons after a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Delaware State. Freshman Cimone Woodard led the Bison with 10 kills, eight digs and six total blocks.
Mountain West: Boise State clinched the Mountain West title with a 3-1 win over UNLV. Paige Bartsch led with 14 kills, followed by Lauren Ohlinger with 12 and Alli O'Harra with 11 kills.
Northeast: Sacred Heart won its third conference championship in a row after taking down Bryant. Sarah Ciszek had a great game with 31 assists, 10 kills and 18 digs.
Ohio Valley: Southeast Missouri took down Morehead State in a five-set battle to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament. Southeast Missouri successfully took down Morehead State three times this season. With the win, the Redhawks won their second OVC Tournament Championship in three seasons and seventh in program history.
Patriot: Colgate won the Patriot conference championship for the first time since 2012. They took down American for the conference title, who has won the conference championship 16 times in the last 20 years.
SoCon: The Citadel clinched the conference title with a sweep over Wofford. The victory marked the first time a women's team has received a conference title in Bulldog history.
Southland: Texas A&M Corpus-Christi won the Southland conference title for the second season in a row. They defended their conference championship over third-seeded McNeese.
SWAC: Florida A&M took down the defending champion Jackson State in its debut season in the SWAC. FAMU will be back in the tournament this season for the first time since 2009.
Sun Belt: South Alabama won the Sun Belt championship and extended its win streak to 13 games with the victory. They earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will mark the first trip to the NCAA postseason in program history.
WAC: Utah Valley clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament with a sweep over Grand Canyon. With the win, UVU repeats as the WAC Volleyball Tournament champions, giving the Wolverines back-to-back appearance in the tournament. They enter the postseason with a 16-12 record on the regular season.
West Coast: BYU secured the West Coast Conference Championship after a 3-1 win over Saint Mary's. This is BYU’s second year in a row winning the WCC title. During head coach Heather Olmstead’s seven-season run, this is the team’s sixth title. The Cougars have an impressive 27-1 record so far this season, and have just San Diego left on the schedule.
