Oklahoma State Volleyball: Why not?

Women's volleyball has over 300 DI schools that participate, featuring nearly every major university from Miami to Spokane and back again. And because we're very sensitive when it comes to the acceptance of our sport in each and every corner of the U.S., we thought we'd take a look at some of the schools that don't field a volleyball team and try to figure out why not.

Our first school: Oklahoma State. This is a major university in a major volleyball conference. They offer women's basketball, soccer, cross country, track & field, golf, tennis, and equestrian, so the school is obviously able to field the normal complement of spo-- wait. Equestrian? Really? They offer equestrian and not volleyball?

A quick investigation finds that equestrian is not an officially sanctioned NCAA sport. Instead its status is as an "emerging women's sport." Nineteen schools have DI equestrian programs, and all -- with the exception of Oklahoma State -- also offer volleyball.

One has to wonder how much money the university puts into the equestrian team and how their roster numbers apply to Title IX. Did we mention that Oklahoma State's equestrian roster is 60 deep? With 15 on scholarship. And, according to their FAQ, the program provides "all the horses, tack and equipment." They provide the horses?! What kind of overhead is that? Is that one horse per person or do they share horses? Can someone bring their own horse? How many of these equestrians list "National Velvet" as their favorite movie? "International Velvet?"

The answer to all this might be found in the name of the facility where the equestrian team competes: Animal Science Arena.

Sssick. We hope that doesn't mean what we think it means. Oklahoma State doesn't have a program in glue development, do they?