It's been nearly 20 years since an NCAA championship event was held at BYU.

On Thursday, the NCAA and the BYU athletic department made official what has been rumored for months -- the NCAA men's volleyball Final Four is scheduled for May 7-9, 2009, in the Smith Fieldhouse on the BYU campus.

"I congratulate the NCAA on its taste," said Provo Mayor Lewis Billings, who spoke briefly at the Thursday news conference at Legend's Grille on the BYU campus. "There are a lot of memories tied to the Smith Fieldhouse and events like this will create even more memories."

It's the first time the men's volleyball Final Four has been held in Provo and the first NCAA championship event here since the 1989 track and field championships. Traditionally, the volleyball finals have been held in California or Hawaii, but NCAA committee chairman Brian Summers said the organization feels it can grow support for the sport by trying new locations. Summers and other committee members toured the Fieldhouse and the BYU campus on Wednesday.

"This is the 40th NCAA men's volleyball championship," Summers said. "The first 38 were held in only 11 different locations. But last year, we were at UC-Irvine for the first time and now BYU. We have every confidence that even if BYU isn't in the Final Four, it can fill the gym and put on a spectacular event."

The BYU men's volleyball program has won three NCAA titles (1999, 2001 and 2004) since becoming a sanctioned sport in 1990. Two former BYU men's volleyball players earned gold medals in this summers Bejiing Olympics -- Ryan Miller and Rich Lambourne. The USA men's coach was former BYU standout Hugh McCutcheon. The Cougars play in the Smith Fieldhouse, the venerable 57-year old arena that seats as many as 6,000 and is one of the hottest tickets on campus during the men's volleyball season.

"What we've found is that if we get 5-10,000 fans attending our event and put them in a 15,000-seat arena, it loses something," Summer said. "This way the fans are right on top of the action. It serves the sport and the broadcast of the event."

During the Final Four, the Smith Fieldhouse Annex will be turned into "Volley Village," an interactive, family-friendly volleyball carnival with games, live entertainment, food, prize giveaways, interactive booths and merchandise sales. Volleyball clinics and club tournaments will also be held throughout the week of the Final Four.

"People that are familiar with our volleyball tradition know the Fieldhouse is a great venue for volleyball," BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe said. "We are very excited to have the event on our campus."

BYU men's volleyball coach Shawn Patchell said he doesn't even have to bring up the Final Four to his players, which are on the court daily practicing for preseason matches.

"The guys talk about it every day," he said. "They say, 'Where are we gonna to be in May; are we gonna to be spectators or are we gonna be playing?' We're a little inexperienced this year, but the guys are using the Final Four to motivate themselves and work extra hard so we're playing at home in May.

"It's all about the fans in the Fieldhouse. I remember talking to (UCLA coach) Al Scates, and he said this place has the most educated fans in the sport of volleyball. That's a huge compliment coming from a tenured coach like Al. Our fans are great, they're enthusiastic."

Since 1997 BYU has posted a record of 160-20 (89 percent) in the Fieldhouse.

Tickets for the Final Four went on sale Thursday at the BYU Ticket Office and are available through Oct. 31 to BYU men's volleyball season ticket holders. On Nov. 1, VIP, reserved and general admission tickets will be available to the general public.

The NCAA men's Final Four brings together the champions of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, as well as one at-large bid.

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it He is the host of "The Home Team" on AM 1400 KSTAR weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

40th NCAA Men's Volleyball Final Four

When: May 7-9, 2009

Where: Smith Fieldhouse in Provo (6,000)

Who: The champions of the MPSF, MIVA and EIVA plus an at-large invitation.

Tickets: BYU men's volleyball season ticket holders can purchase tickets now. On Nov. 1, tickets will be made available to the general public. Tickets range from $100 for all-session VIP courtside seats to $12 for a single-session student general admission ticket. For more information, contact the BYU ticket office (422-BYU1 or 800-322-BYU1) or go to BYUtickets.com.

Schedule: Semifinal 1 on Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m. MT (ESPN2/ESPNU Live); Semifinal 2 on Thursday, May 7 at 9 p.m. MT (ESPNU Live, ESPN2 tape delayed); Finals on Saturday, May 9 at 4 p.m. MT (ESPN2).