[1] The NCAA began sponsoring women's college volleyball championships in 1981, replacing the AIAW as the highest-level governing body for the sport.

In the first few years, the NCAA field was composed largely of teams from the southwest and west coast, but the sport grew in nationwide popularity in the 1980s.

The idea for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship was hatched that fall by a trio of volleyball coaches from schools belonging to unrepresented conferences: Brenda Williams from UAB, Charlie Daniel from Western Kentucky, and Geri Polvino from Eastern Kentucky.

In 1991, the tournament was renamed the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, and by 1992 it was so popular that it was moved to the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, a 7,300-seat arena.

The NIVC felt it had done its job in kindling national interest in the sport, and its tournament folded after 1995, sitting dormant for the next 22 years.