Tournament History
Preseason tournaments hosted by BYU have been a tradition since 1977. With the exception of two years (1993 and 1999), the Cougars have hosted at least one tournament each year. It is one of college volleyball’s longest running traditions, and although the name of the marquee tournament has evolved over the years from the BYU Preview to the BYU Invitational to the BYU Mizuno Classic to the BYU Molten Classic to the current BYU Nike Classic, the premise has always been the same – to gather top teams from around the country for intense competition.
In 1977 the inaugural BYU Preview featured 16 teams (BYU, BYU-JV, California, Colorado State, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, Portland State,Texas, Texas-Arlington, Texas Tech, Utah, Utah State, Weber State and Wyoming). The field grew to as many as 24 teams in 1984, but in recent years BYU has hosted anywhere from two to four teams.
Although the premise of staging the 1977 BYU Preview was for modest short-term gain, BYU has now hosted 36 tournaments in 30 years, winning 21 titles along the way. An excerpt directly from the 1984 BYU Preview program explains the simple beginnings:
“BYU coach Elaine Michaelis conducted her first volleyball invitational in 1977 to give her team, visiting teams and local fans a chance to preview some of the schools expected to play in the AIAW national championships that BYU was to host later that season. Her idea was that preseason competition among gifted teams would allow coaches and players to identify their flaws, exhibit their strengths and measure themselves against others as they began the march toward nationals. The response was so enthusiastic that her idea turned into a tradition.”
There have been many Cougar highlights, but one of the top moments in BYU tournament history was when BYU upended No. 1 Stanford before defeating No. 2 Long Beach State to take the 2000 tournament title. The Cougars also defeated No. 4 Stanford on the way to winning the 2006 crown and No. 10 Wisconsin while taking the 2007 title.
MVP
| Year | Opponent | Tourney |
| 2008 | Bryn Porter | |
| 2007 | Chelsea Goodman | |
| 2006 | Erica Lott | |
| 2003 | Kim Wilson | |
| 2001 | Sunny Mahe | |
| 2000 | Nina Puikkonen | |
| 1997 | Amy Steele-Gant | |
| 1992 | Tea Nieminen | Mizuno |
| 1991 | Invitational | |
| 1991 | Sharon Egbert | Mizuno |
| 1988 | Dylann Duncan | Beehive |
| 1987,86 | Mariliisa Salmi | |
| 1983 | Karin Knudsen | |
| 1982 | Valerie de Pourtales | |
| 1981 | Lisa Motes Connolly |
| Year | Opponent | Tourney |
| 2008 | Malia Marquardt | |
| 2008 | Bryn Porter | |
| 2007 | Chelsea Goodman | |
| 2007 | Rachel Dyer | |
| 2006 | Lindsy Hartsock | |
| 2006 | Amy Schlauder | |
| 2007, 06, 04 | Erica Lott | |
| 2004 | Kim Wilson | |
| 2003 | Lauren Richards | |
| 2003,02 | Carrie Bowers | |
| 2001 | Karina Puikkonen | |
| 2001 | Nina Puikkonen | |
| 2001,00 | Jackie Bundy | |
| 2000 | Sunny Tonga-Mahe | |
| 1997 | Anna-Lena Smith | |
| 1997 | Helen Hjorth | |
| 1997 | Caroline Steuer-Bower | |
| 1995 | Angie Tanner | |
| 1995 | Amy Steele-Gant | |
| 1994 | Marianne Clark | |
| 1994,92,91 | Charlene Johnson | Mizuno |
| 1992 | Michelle Fellows | Mizuno |
| 1991 | Laura Warnock | Mizuno |
| 1990 | Marinda Gorbahn-Ashman | Inviational |
| 1990 | Mizuno | |
| 1989 | ||
| 1990 | Carla Gee | Invitational |
| 1990 | Tea Nieminen | Mizuno |
| 1990 | Tumua Matu'u | Mizuno |
| 1988 | Cherie Sam Fong | Beehive |
| 1988 | Jan Giles | Beehive |
| 1988 | Dylann Duncan | Challenge |
| 1988 | Jill Plumb | Challenge |
| 1987 | Diane Campbell | |
| 1987 | Kathy Higbee | |
| 1986,85 | Sari Virtanen | |
| 1986 | Vicki Backus | |
| 1984, HM | Tami Hamilton | |
| 1984 | Karen Doane | |
| 1983,82 | Madge Ferreira | |
| 1983 | Raelyn Hoglund | |
| 1982 | Michele Nekota | |
| 1981 | Brigitte McBride | |
| 1981 | Andrea Westover |
| Year | Opponent |
| First | 21 |
| Second | 6 |
| Third | 5 |
| Fourth | 1 |
| Sixth | 2 |
| Seventh | 1 |
| OPPONENT | Record |
| American | 1-0 |
| Arizona State | 1-0 |
| Boise State | 3-0 |
| BYU-JV | 2-0 |
| BYU-Hawai'i | 1-1 |
| California | 2-0 |
| Cal Poly | 1-0 |
| Central Florida | 1-0 |
| Central Michigan | |
| Colorado | 1-1 |
| Colorado State | 4-1 |
| Fairfield | 1-0 |
| Florida | 0-2 |
| Georgia | 1-0 |
| Gonzaga | 2-0 |
| Houston | 1-1 |
| Idaho | 2-0 |
| Idaho State | 4-1 |
| Kansas | 1-0 |
| Kentucky | 1-0 |
| Long Beach State | 2-2 |
| Memphis | 1-0 |
| Minnesota | 1-0 |
| Missouri | 1-0 |
| Montana | 4-0 |
| Montana State | 1-0 |
| Nebraska | 1-0 |
| Nevada | 1-0 |
| New Mexico | 1-0 |
| New Mexico State | 2-0 |
| Northern Arizona | 1-0 |
| Northern Colorado | 2-0 |
| Northern Illinois | 1-0 |
| Northern Iowa | 1-0 |
| Ohio State | 3-0 |
| Oklahoma | 0-1 |
| Oral Roberts | 2-1 |
| Oregon | 1-1 |
| Pacific | 1-2 |
| Penn State | 2-0 |
| Pepperdine | 1-1 |
| Pittsburgh | 1-0 |
| Portland State | 1-2 |
| Rhode Island | 1-0 |
| Rice | 2-0 |
| Sacramento State | 1-0 |
| San Francisco | 1-0 |
| Snow College | 1-0 |
| Southern Illnois | 3-0 |
| Southern Utah | 1-0 |
| SW Missouri State | 2-0 |
| Stanford | 2-0 |
| Texas | 3-1 |
| Texas A&M | 1-0 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1-0 |
| Texas-Arlington | 7-0 |
| Texas Tech | 2-2 |
| Tulane | 1-0 |
| UCLA | 0-1 |
| UC Irvine | 1-0 |
| UC Riverside | 1-0 |
| UNLV | 1-0 |
| USC | 0-2 |
| Utah | 3-1 |
| Utah State | 5-0 |
| Utah Tech | 1-0 |
| Virg. Commonwealth | 1-0 |
| Wake Forest | 1-0 |
| Washington | 4-0 |
| Washington State | 3-0 |
| Weber State | 4-0 |
| Wisconsin | 1-0 |
| Wyoming | 2-1 |
