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The Oregon School Activities Association made state history after sanctioning boys’ volleyball as an official sport on Oct. 6, with its first season to start in spring 2026.
But in its inaugural year, some of the state’s largest districts don’t appear poised to play. Both Portland Public Schools (under the Portland Interscholastic League) and Beaverton School District have communicated their intentions not to run teams.
The decision is causing uproar among students, parents and community members, especially since those districts are home to some existing teams that helped make boy’s volleyball official. (In order to become a sanctioned sport, the OSAA requires at least 25 “member schools” participating in the sport before it can undergo a sanctioning process.)
Seven high schools in PPS and three in BSD have had boys’ volleyball teams, according to the Oregon Boys Volleyball Action Committee, a group formed to protest the decision.
Spokespeople with PPS did not respond to WW’s request for comment, but Shellie Bailey-Shah, a spokeswoman with BSD, passed on a district message that noted a number of challenges. BSD had not set aside funding for boys’ volleyball since it was approved mid-year and could face Title IX challenges because “adding a boys sport without adding a comparable opportunity for girls could create an imbalance in participation.” (Marshall Haskins, the PIL athletic director, told The Oregonian that PPS had concerns similar to BSD.)
Parents across both districts have expressed interest in self-funding the programs (an Oct. 19 petition protesting PIL specifically has already garnered more than 600 signatures), and notes that “parents, alumni, and community sponsors have already pledged time and resources to help launch and sustain teams.” But self-funding, the BSD statement notes, could compound fairness issues.
Still, advocates say depriving boys of this sport has pervasive consequences. Micah Wilson, spokeswoman for OBVAC, says boys volleyball attracts young men who are not necessarily multi sport athletes, including more students of color and LGBTQ+ students. She adds that these high school teams could be the only path some boys have to go on and play in college.
“This is a failure of leadership and a failure to plan,” Wilson says. “They left these boys hanging. This is a gut punch and a shock.”
In a press release, Ida B. Wells High School senior Noah De Los Santos shared that he was looking forward to his senior year of boys volleyball ahead of the cancellation notice.
“The PIL’s decision to cancel boys volleyball doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “Last year, we had strong participation, our parents and the boosters helped us with funding, and plenty of gym access. So why cancel it now? What benefits come from taking away a sport that so many of us just love?”
