The Magicians Disappear
Another program has silently vanished from the 2026 calendar. This time, it’s the LeMoyne-Owen College Magicians.
According to their website, the LeMoyne-Owen Men’s Volleyball program has canceled their matches for the 2026 season. This would have been LOC’s second season. In 2025, the Magicians had a 2-18 record1 and finished in 6th place in the SIAC tournament.
No official announcement has been made from the school on the future of the program. In talking briefly to someone close to the situation, there is hope that the team will return. At this point, it is hard to say what the future holds for this team, however. What is clear is that this news is very discouraging for the volleyball community.
Why was the season canceled?
The most obvious reason for this cancelled season is the roster. LOC currently lists only 6 players on the roster for the 2026 season. While this is technically enough players to be on the court, any player or coach can tell you that this is not nearly enough to have a team. Last year, the program only rostered 10 players. In talking to them last season, having players play out of position was already a challenge with their smaller roster. When the roster shrinks even more, the season becomes impossible.
While roster limitation is the easy reason for the cancellation, I think the roster is more of a symptom than the actual problem. Not being able to recruit enough players suggests funding issues. We know from Morehouse earlier this year that keeping a team on the court is not free. And right now, Men’s Volleyball tends to be one of the programs near the top of the list for the chopping block.
Empty Seats & Missing Data: The Silent Pause of Morehouse Volleyball
In just a few short weeks, the college men’s volleyball season will be starting, but not every program is returning. In addition to the highly publicized cancellation of the Grand Canyon University team, there will be another empty seat at the metaphorical table.
I know this is a move to save money, but it is always a bit of a red flag for me when I see the men’s head coach pull double-duty as the women’s head coach as well. Even though they compete in different seasons, that is an enormous ask to coach two completely different teams. LOC is one of those schools that has a coach working both sides of the net.
LeMoyne-Owen is a small school, and I mean small. In the fall of 2023, the total undergraduate enrollment was 646. A volleyball team of 13 players would be 2% of the student body. Small schools have to be creative when it comes to funding in general, but particularly when it comes to athletics. I do hope the administration, the athletics department, the coaches, and all those involved can figure out a sustainable path forward. The reality is that the path ahead is tough, but it can be done. We know it can be done because others are doing it.
What does this mean for the SIAC?
I’m not sure. According to the NCAA bylaws, conferences need 6 teams as part of the automatic qualification (AQ) spot for the National Tournament. With both Morehouse and LeMoyne-Owen not fielding a team this season, the SIAC only has 5 teams. While I don’t expect the SIAC to lose their AQ for the 2026 tournament, if they are not able to return to the six team threshold, their AQ could be in jeopardy.
In total, the SIAC has 15 member institutions.2 On paper, there is room to expand and get the conference back to six programs for men’s volleyball. But in reality, it will be difficult, particularly with Morehouse and LOC in the forefront of Athletic Director’s minds.
Where do we go from here?
We try our best to keep hope alive. Morehouse and LeMoyne-Owen deserve to be back in the league. Part of keeping hope alive is making sure that we don’t forget about these programs. Also, we have to try to make sure others don’t forget about them, including administrations.
I wish I could say that this is the last team that will be canceled. I fear that there will be more, especially with the smaller programs. If GCU showed us anything though, it is that no one is fully safe. One of the best things we all can do is support teams out there. Go to matches if you can. Engage with them online. Email an administrator and let them know how much you love (fill in team here). There are tons of options!
I’m getting pretty tired of writing these types of updates.3 But I will continue to do it because teams shouldn’t be able to disappear without being noticed. There is something deeply unsettling about no school announcement and no coverage from the media. Hopefully bringing more attention to these programs that are struggling to field teams at this level will let them know that they are not alone. The sport needs you and we are rooting for you. I, for one, can’t wait until the Magicians reappear and stun us all.
The LOC Athletics website says 2-17, but it is missing their final match of the SIAC tournament where Morehouse defeated them 3-2.
Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University.
Potentially the only silver lining for me, personally, is that I now have a firm grasp on the spelling of canceled. It is just one “L” for American English and two for British English.
Keep hope alive is/should be a rallying cry as there are a surplus of athletes for the number of programs. With the emerging sport of Women's Flag Football this could make for nervous times for programs or provide an avenue to keep MVB and add the sport to balance opportunities for both genders. Keep hope alive indeed.
"Hold your head high, stick your chest out. It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes. Keep hope alive." The late Jesse Jackson.