Matt McShane wants to make Air Force volleyball a bigger deal.

So the Falcons’ new coach is moving his team to a smaller venue.

Air Force will be back in the East Gymnasium, located in the building adjacent to the Falcon Athletic Center, for the 2010 season.

The team had moved into Clune Arena – where the academy basketball teams play – in 2006. But instead of giving the games and the program a big-time feel, the arena did the opposite, with a small number of fans getting swallowed up by empty seats in the nearly 6,000-seat venue. At Falcon Court at East Gym, as it will be called, capacity will be about 1,000 with fans on three sides of the court. (Though McShane wants to add some more bleachers to bring capacity to about 1,500 and enclose the court with spectators.)

“The East Gym is going to be packed,” McShane said. “It’s going to be raucous and fun.”

Moving his team’s games is just one of the ways McShane hopes to build a following. He plans to join his team at the academy’s dining hall once a week – or whenever his team has a home game – to talk to cadets and encourage them to attend games. And he wants to reach out to the Colorado Springs community to find fans.

“I think it’s going to be easy,” McShane said last week while surrounded by young players at Air Force’s volleyball camp. “I mean, look around. There’s 160 kids here. There’s 100 of them who are local. We’ve got our players coming in here, and one of the campers from last week, her parents called and bought season tickets already because she’s so thrilled to come and watch us. … There’s a lot of good high school and club volleyball here in town, and we’re the only Division I team.”

Entertainer Lady Gaga, right, watches the New York Yankees play the New York Mets in a baseball game Friday, June 18, 2010 at Yankee Stadium in New York. Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bill Kostroun