History
The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) began on July 21, 1983, as an official players association to negotiate with private tournament promoters. The first AVP logo was designed by Ken Jencks and Steve Fisher of the Manhattan Beach Recreation Department. A few years later, a revised logo was designed by Rick Jurk.
One of the earliest tour sponsors was Miller Lite beer and play involved a double-elimination format, with select tournaments sponsored by Jose Cuervo tequila offering additional prize money and a unique format that narrowed the field to the top 8 teams, which then played in a round-robin to determine the top two teams for the championship match. Only men were allowed to compete on the tour in the early days. The AVP added women's events in 1993 and '94 while the main women's tour, the Women's Professional Volleyball Association struggled. The WPVA, which had a separate sponsorship with Coors, ceased operations in 1997, and the AVP included women from 1999 on.
The men's teams with the most wins in the history of the tour include Jim Menges/Greg Lee (70's), Sinjin Smith/Randy Stoklos (80's), Karch Kiraly/Kent Steffes (90's), and Todd Rogers/Phil Dalhausser (00's). After the merger of the AVP and the WPVA/BVA, the top women's teams include Holly McPeak/Nancy Reno (90's) and then McPeak with Elaine Youngs (90's), Misty May/Kerri Walsh, and Elaine Youngs/Nicole Branagh (00's), along with Rachel Wacholder-Scott and Jennifer Kessy/April Ross.
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