International Volleyball Association (1975-1980)
Tombstone
Born: 1975 – IVA founding franchise
Folded: June 1980
First Game: June 1, 1975 (W 12-7, 12-2, 10-12, 11-13, 12-5 @ San Diego Breakers)
Last Game:
IVA Champions: 1978
Arenas
1975-1979: UCSB Robertson Gym
1980: UCSB Events Center
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner:
- 1975: Mike O’Hara
- 1976: Eric Bruckner, et al.
- 1976: Brian McAdams, International Volleyball Association
- 1977: Bill Rozich, et al.
- 1978 – 1980: William J. Levy
Background
The Santa Barbara Spikers were a co-ed professional volleyball promotion that won the championship of the International Volleyball Association (IVA) during the summer of 1978. The Spikers were the only IVA franchise to compete in all six seasons of the league’s existence from the league’s debut in 1975 until its collapse in 1980.
The Spikers, who played on the campus of UC-Santa Barbara, assembled a roster of top players from all over the world. Standouts included Polish setter Stan Gosciniak (’75-’76) and Brazilian stars Bebeto de Freitas (’77-’80) and Luiz Eymard (’77-’80). On the women’s side, the Spikers boasted top performers such as Rosie Wegrich (’77-’79), the IVA’s female Most Valuable Player in 1979, and Linda Fernandez (’76-’77). Fernandez went on to broader fame in the late 1970’s thanks to her appearances on ABC Sports’ popular Superstars competitions.
The Spikers defeated the Tucson Sky to capture the IVA Championship in 1978. In August 1979, the same two clubs met again in the championship series, with Tucson emerging victorious in the re-match.
End of the Line
Despite the club’s frequent strong performances and modest but devoted following in Santa Barbara, the Spikers’ existence was always tenuous. The team cycled rapidly through five owners and promoters during its first four seasons and was repeatedly on the brink of extinction.
The final nail in the coffin came in June of 1980. The IVA wobbled into its 6th season with ownership groups in crisis all across the West Coast-based league. The United States’ decision to boycott the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan deprived the sport of a rare spotlight moment that would have showcased the league’s international stars to an American television audience.
The Seattle franchise imploded on the eve of the 1980 season opener and San Jose followed them into oblivion one month later. Santa Barbara real estate and restaurant investor William Levy, the most durable of the Spikers’ many owners, reportedly struck a $1 million deal to sell the team in June to a Los Angeles businessman named Donald Moger. IVA officials refused to approve the deal after it became clear that Moger had secured no place for the Spikers to play in L.A., despite his professed intention to move the club immediately. The team went in limbo for a month while other IVA teams continued playing. Eventually it all became moot when the league itself shut down in mid-July 1980.
In Memoriam
Player-coach Bebeto de Freitas died of a heart attack on March 13, 2018 at the age of 68 in his native Brazil.
Links
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