NJIT's Lenny Kaplan Selected as EIVA Conference President

Published: Tuesday, August 10, 2021
EIVA expands postseason tournaments to six teams couples with the EIVA’s growth to nine member programs.

Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan has been named the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) President, unanimously approved in a vote by the league's coaches, the conference office announced. 

Kaplan takes over the position from Ron Shayka, who announced his retirement from the EIVA's leadership post.

When the 2022 men's volleyball season opens, it will see a fresh start and several changes for the EIVA. The coming season will see an expansion of the postseason to six teams in the EIVA Championship Tournament, a new league president and a new league logo.

Kaplan, the Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics at NJIT, a position he has held since 2019, has been a part of the NJIT staff since 2000.  He has been a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Committee from 2016-21, was the committee's chair for three of those years, and also served as the athletic administration representative on the EIVA Executive Committee.

A highlight in Kaplan's career was being named Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in 2018 and in September 2015, he was lauded at the annual Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Honors Luncheon as one of two named Administrator of the Year in Division I.

Shayka is retiring from his post as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Finance and Operations at George Mason, where he has served various roles for nearly 40 years. Shayka has been the EIVA President for the past eight years.

The postseason tournament's expansion to six teams couples with the EIVA's growth to nine member programs, with St. Francis Brooklyn now an official member school. The larger tournament format also received unanimous approval from the EIVA's head coaches. The postseason had previously seen a four-team tournament. After the cancellation of the end of the 2020 season and the uncertainties of the 2021 schedules, the 2021 tournament was open to all member programs that played matches.

The new tournament schedule will see three rounds played over the final four days of the NCAA's regular season with all matches at one site – hosted by the No. 1 seed earned as the regular-season champion. Two first-round matches will be played involving seeds 3 through 6, with the top two seeds earning byes. The next night, first-round winners will meet the top two seeds (Nos. 4-5 winner vs. No. 1 seed, Nos. 3-6 winner vs. No. 2 seed) in the semifinals. Winners of those matches will meet in the championship match on the final night of the regular season, earning the EIVA's automatic qualifying bid for the NCAA's National Collegiate Championship bracket.

The 2022 season's tournament will see first-round matches on Wednesday, April 20; semifinals on Thursday, April 21; and a championship on Saturday, April 23.

The EIVA's new logo comes as part of the league's Golden Era Celebration. The 2020 season was the start of its 50th season, and 2021 saw its 50th tournament. Uncertainties of scheduling and circumstances prompted a delay until 2022 to honor the league's history. The EIVA will do more to honor and celebrate its history this fall.