Merle Norman Stadium

Last updated
Merle Norman Stadium
USCTrojansMerleNormanStadium.jpg
Merle Norman Stadium
Location3501 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles
Coordinates 34°01′13″N118°16′53″W / 34.020195°N 118.281459°W / 34.020195; -118.281459
Owner University of Southern California
OperatorUniversity of Southern California
Construction
Broke ground2012
Opened2013
Tenants
USC Trojans (NCAA)
(2013–present)

Merle Norman Stadium is a beach volleyball facility located in Los Angeles, California, United States. [1] The on-campus USC facility, built in 2013, serves as the home of the USC Trojans women's beach volleyball team. [1] The facility has three sand courts where USC plays its home matches and holds practices. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Ground was broken to construct the venue in July 2012 from donations of several USC alumni, including Jack and Helen Nethercutt. [4] The stadium opened on March 7, 2013, and was named after Merle Norman. [1]

The Trojans went undefeated at the stadium in 2014, 2015, and 2017. [5] As of July 2020, the Trojans are 34–4 at the stadium. [1] As of 2023, the Trojans have won 5 NCAA Beach Volleyball National Championships since the NCAA program's foundation in 2016.

Events

The women's beach volleyball team played their first dual match in the stadium on March 10, 2013, versus Loyola Marymount. [6]

The 2016 Pac-12 Conference beach volleyball championships were held at the stadium, which the USC Trojans won. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pac-12 Conference</span> American collegiate athletics conference

The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans football</span> American college football team at University of Southern California

The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans men's basketball</span> Sports team of the University of Southern California

The USC Trojans men's basketball program is a college basketball team that competes in the Pac-12 Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, representing the University of Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Southern California

The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy. The program participates in the Pac-12 Conference and has won 136 team national championships, 112 of which are National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships. USC's official colors are cardinal and gold. The Trojans have a cross-town rivalry in several sports with UCLA. However, USC's football rivalry with Notre Dame predates the UCLA rivalry by three years. The Notre Dame rivalry stems mainly from the annual football game played between these two universities and is considered the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football. The Trojans also enjoy a rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal. The USC Trojans are considered one of the most successful college athletic programs of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans women's volleyball</span> American college volleyball team

The USC women's volleyball team is coached by Brad Keller, who was named to the position on February 20, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA–USC rivalry</span> American collegiate athletics rivalry

The UCLA–USC rivalry is the American collegiate athletics rivalry between the UCLA Bruins sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and USC Trojans teams of the University of Southern California (USC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April Ross</span> American beach volleyball player

April Elizabeth Ross is an American beach volleyball player and three-time Olympic medalist. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Jennifer Kessy, a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics with Kerri Walsh Jennings, and a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics with Alix Klineman. Ross and Kessy were also the 2009 Beach Volleyball World Champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tri Bourne</span> American beach volleyball player

Tri Bourne is a professional beach volleyball player. He was formerly a professional indoor player and NCAA Division 1 Men's Volleyball player for the USC Trojans. He has been a part of the United States indoor and beach national teams since 2005. He was born on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where he grew up. His father Peter Bourne and mother Katy Bourne are both triathletes.

Lisa Love is the former athletic director of Arizona State University. At the time Love was one of only three female athletic directors in a Division I FBS Bowl Equity Conference of the NCAA. Love began her administrative career at USC. Prior to becoming an administrator, Love served as the volleyball head coach at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Southern California, leading her teams to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament 13 times. In 2005, she was inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Hall of Fame.

Megan Norma McNamara is a Canadian beach volleyball player. Along with her twin sister, Nicole McNamara, Megan has competed in many beach volleyball events around the world. From the fall of 2015 until the spring of 2019, Megan competed collegiately for the UCLA Bruins, leading the team to its first Pac-12 and NCAA titles in the sport during the 2018 season, and a second NCAA championship in the 2019 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole McNamara</span> Canadian beach volleyball player (born 1997)

Nicole Carol McNamara is a Canadian beach volleyball player. Along with her twin sister, Megan McNamara, Nicole has competed in many beach volleyball events around the world. From the fall of 2015 until the spring of 2019, Megan competed collegiately for the UCLA Bruins, leading the team to its first Pac-12 and NCAA titles in the sport during the 2018 season, and a second NCAA championship in the 2019 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LSU Tigers women's beach volleyball</span> American college volleyball team

The LSU Tigers women's beach volleyball team represents Louisiana State University in the sport of beach volleyball. The Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA), and play their home matches at the new on-campus LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They are currently led by head coach Russell Brock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Hughes</span> American beach volleyball player (born 1995)

Sara Elizabeth Hughes is an American beach volleyball player. With teammate Kelly Cheng, she achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 2 in August 2023. Hughes has won six tournaments on the AVP Pro Tour and seven gold medals, one silver medal, and three bronze medals on the FIVB World Tour/Pro Beach Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felix Field and Loker Stadium</span>

Felix Field and Loker Stadium is an outdoor track and field facility located on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The facility, rebuilt in 2001, serves as the outdoor home of the USC Trojans men's and women's track and field teams. The stadium has a seating capacity of 3,000. The stadium is named for Katherine B. Loker and the field is named for USC alumnae and US Olympian Allyson Felix. The entrance to the facility is called "Louis Zamperini Plaza" and includes tributes to USC's NCAA and Olympic champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyon Center</span>

The Lyon Center or Lyon Recreation Center is a student recreational facility and part-time varsity athletics facility located on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The Lyon Center's full name is the General William Lyon University Center and is named for William Lyon, a former General in the United States Army Air Corps and United States Air Force. The facility is adjacent to the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 USC Trojans football team</span> American college football season

The 2020 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by fifth-year head coach Clay Helton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Claes</span> American beach volleyball player

Kelly Marie Cheng is an American beach volleyball player. She and her partner Sara Hughes won the bronze medal at the 2013 U19 World Championships, the silver medal at the 2014 U21 World Championships, and back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2016 and 2017.

The 2020–21 USC Trojans women's basketball team represented the University of Southern California during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Trojans play their home games at the Galen Center and are members of the Pac-12 Conference. The squad was led by head coach Mark Trakh, who was in the 4th year of his 2nd stint. This year, the season was shortened to accommodate safety measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, no fans were permitted at any of the games.

The 2021–22 USC Trojans women's basketball team represents the University of Southern California during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Trojans play their home games at the Galen Center and are members of the Pac-12 Conference. The squad is led by first-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who was hired on May 10, 2021. Prior to arriving at USC, Gottlieb served as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Her previous head coaching experience includes stops at California, whom she led to the Final Four in 2013, and UC Santa Barbara.

The 2023 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship was an intercollegiate tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's beach volleyball national champion for the 2022–23 season. The seventh edition of the tournament was held from May 3 to 7, 2023, at Gulf Place Public Beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The 2023 championship featured a single-elimination-only bracket for the first time, along with an expanded 17-team field. Nine of the participating schools automatically qualified by winning their respective conference tournaments, while the other eight were given at-large bids by the NCAA Women's Beach Volleyball Committee. The tournament was broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Merle Norman Stadium". usctrojans.com. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  2. "USC Unveils Merle Norman Sand Volleyball Stadium, Season Opens Sunday". reignoftroy.com. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  3. "USC's Women of Troy take the sand". ncaa.com. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  4. Kragen, Aubrey. "USC Alum's Company Changes Course During Crisis". USC Athletics. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  5. "2017 Women's Beach Volleyball Schedule". USC Athletics. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  6. "Sand Volleyball Splits Opening Matches". conquestchronicles.com. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  7. "Recap: USC captures first ever Pac-12 Beach Volleyball title | Pac-12". pac-12.com. Retrieved 2020-08-01.