The field has been set for the seventh annual NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships.
USC (28-5) enters the event in Gulf Shores, Ala., as the reigning national champion, the third seed looking to complete the first three-peat in the history of the event and take its fifth title overall.
The Trojans start the tournament looking up at rival UCLA (37-3), the top seed, which will open against Texas A&M Corpus Christi after the Islanders defeated Tennessee-Martin in a play-in game.
Between the two Los Angeles powers is second seed TCU (35-2), which is hoping for its first-ever title.
MORE: Watch the NCAA beach volleyball championships live on Fubo (free trial)
Here's what you need to know about the 2023 NCAA beach volleyball championships:
How to watch NCAA beach volleyball championships 2023
- Date: May 5-7
- Location: Gulf Shores Public Beach, Gulf Shores, Ala.
- TV channels: ESPN | ESPNU | ESPN2
- Live stream: ESPN+ | Fubo
The tournament will be held from Friday, May 5 to Sunday, May 7 at the Gulf Shores Public Beach in Gulf Shores, Ala.
The Sweet 16 can be viewed every hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The eight teams that advance will be broadcast live on ESPN2, followed by the Final Four, as the quarterfinals and semifinals will both take place on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET.
The championships will be aired live on ESPN on Sunday at noon ET.
For those beach volleyball fans without cable, tune in on ESPN+ or the ESPN app, or register for Fubo, which offers a free trial to new users.
NCAA beach volleyball championship bracket 2023
From 2016-2021, the tournament consisted of eight teams and was held double-elimination style with a best-of-five sets per match and a single-elimination final.
In 2022, the tournament field expanded to 17 teams (with the two lowest seeds meeting in a play-in match) from among the 93 schools that sponsor the sport. This is the first year the NCAA is going with single-elimination brackets across the board.
Below is the full schedule for the weekend.
Friday, May 5
Sweet 16
| Results |
|---|
| (1) UCLA 3, (17) Texas A&M Corpus Christi 0 |
| (8) Cal 3, (9) Long Beach State 2 |
| (4) Florida State 3, (13) Florida International 1 |
| (5) LSU 3, (12) Florida Atlantic 2 |
| (2) TCU 3, (15) Stetson 0 |
| (10) Stanford 3, (7) Grand Canyon 2 |
| (3) USC 3, (14) Georgia State 0 |
| (6) Loyola Marymount 3, (11) Hawaii 1 |
Saturday, May 6
Quarterfinals
| Results |
|---|
| (1) UCLA 3, (8) Cal 1 |
| (4) Florida State 3, (5) LSU 0 |
| (2) TCU 3, (10) Stanford 0 |
| (3) USC 3, (6) LMU 1 |
Semifinals
| Result |
|---|
| (1) UCLA 3, (4) Florida State 0 |
| (3) USC 3, (2) TCU 2 |
Sunday, May 7
National championship
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV channel |
|---|---|---|
| (1) UCLA vs. (3) USC | Noon | ESPN |
List of past NCAA beach volleyball champions
The NCAA only introduced a beach volleyball tournament in 2016. It's the 90th and newest collegiate championship event, first for women since the 2004 bowling championships. In the last six years, 21 schools from eight difference conferences have made appearances in the tournament, but only two have ever won it.
USC leads with four titles under their belt, while UCLA follows with two. Florida State has been a runner-up three different times, and Pepperdine once.
| Year | School |
|---|---|
| 2016 | USC |
| 2017 | USC |
| 2018 | UCLA |
| 2019 | UCLA |
| 2020* | — |
| 2021 | USC |
| 2022 | USC |
*Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
