Following a dispute with a private promoter at the 1984 World Championships in Redondo Beach, California, the AVP began organizing its own men's tour in 1984.

[5] The AVP had conflicts with the sport's international governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), in the 1980s and 1990s over regulations and sponsorship.

The tour was bought out of bankruptcy the following year by Major League Volleyball and twelve events were held with a total prize money of US$1 million.

The AVP was bought in December 2010 by DFA PVA II Partners, LLC, and a tournament was held in Huntington Beach, California in October 2011.

[17] International players are allowed to play on the AVP tour as well if they have dual citizenship or permanent residency in the United States.

[18] Notable international players on the tour include Brazil's Ricardo Santos and Canada's Sarah Pavan.

[22] AVPNext was started in 2014 as a developmental circuit, serving as a pipeline for future AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour players.

AVPNext tournaments enable players to earn AVP national ranking points which are required for qualification and seeding in the Pro Tour events.

The highest-ranked AVPNext teams from each region at the end of the season also receive direct entry into the Manhattan Beach Open.

Select events air on the linear ESPN networks[26] The AVP Awards Banquet[27] takes place at the end of each year, honoring the tour's top performers based on statistics, player votes and AVP national ranking points earned during the year.