The Iowa State athletic department has submitted a bid to host a first round NCAA volleyball tournament match.

This is the first time ISU has placed a bid to have a NCAA volleyball tournament match at home, Elaine Hieber, ISU senior associate athletic director, announced at the monthly athletic council meeting on Tuesday.

According to Hieber, in order for ISU to receive the bid it will evaluated in three areas by the NCAA: facilities, anticipated crowd and projected revenue.

“For a first round site for volleyball, you must guarantee a revenue of at least $2,000,” Hieber said.

ISU’s volleyball team is having one of its best seasons in years. The team is currently in second place in the Big Eight Conference.

How well the team does in the Big Eight tournament this weekend in Columbia, Mo., will weigh heavily in its chances of qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

However, ISU does not need to qualify for the tournament for Ames to host the first round volleyball match, which will be held on Nov. 29.

“It is not contingent on us making the tournament, but that would probably be the way that would occur,” Hieber said.

“I believe it is possible to host a first round match without qualifying for the tournament.”

The decision will be announced on Nov. 26, according to the athletic department.

Hieber announced that a memorial will be placed on the new ISU cross country course to honor the 1985 ISU women’s cross country team.

Four runners and two coaches from the 1985 squad died in a plane crash while returning from a second place finish in the NCAA Championships.

The memorial will be relocated from the Veenker Golf Course, the former site of the ISU cross country course.

A brief ceremony will take place on Thursday commemorating the memorial.

Hieber also mentioned that ISU athletic administration and coaching offices that are housed in the Olsen Building will be relocated due to the current construction to the building. The offices will be moved to the State Gym and Beyer Hall. Construction is scheduled to be completed on the Olsen Building in July of 1996.

“Our State Gym people are very used to crowded conditions, and they are going to be more crowded now,” Hieber said. “We’re doing the best we can, and hopefully we’ll be compatible with everybody, and they won’t be too upset about the changes.”

The athletic department will not start replacing the artificial turf on Jack Trice Field immediately following the season as planned, said Facilities Committee Chairman Rick Cruse. Instead, workers will wait until spring to begin tearing apart the current surface and installing a natural surface.