RAPID CITY - Todd Lowery's telephone hasn't stopped ringing since word got out on Monday that National American University in Rapid City was shuttering its storied women's volleyball program.

Along with calls from supporters and reporters seeking interviews, Lowery, head coach of the two-time NAIA Division II national champion Mavericks, has been fielding inquiries from other coaches about his blue-chip roster of players, who have no place to play next year.

"You wouldn't believe the phone calls we've been getting. These girls are getting offers all the way from NAIA schools to NCAA Division I programs; from Hawaii to Florida to Virginia, and from North Dakota to Texas," Lowery said.

"There's no secret about these girls. We have far more scholarship offers than we do kids," he said.

Coaches from nearby NAIA programs at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, nearby South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City and Dickinson State University in North Dakota visited with the team at the NAU campus on Wednesday. Representatives from NCAA Div. II Chadron State College in Nebraska are slated to come to Rapid City today.

They'll meet with players from last year's squad which finished 25-11 and made the Mavericks' eighth-straight trip to the NAIA national tournament, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to Biola of California.

Lowery wants each of his former players to find the right fit both academically and athletically, so he's urging them not to jump at the first offer.

"We're really advising the girls not to make any snap judgments," he said.

Rapid City freshmen Whitney Hayes and Jamie Snyder both say they picked NAU because it was a top-notch program and also close to home.

"I saw (current NAU assistant coach) Fernanda (Nelson) play and I wanted to be just like her," said Hayes, a former standout at Rapid City Stevens High School. "The whole experience of my coming here is a dream come true."

But the dream turned sour Monday when Hayes' boyfriend on the Maverick rodeo program called to tell her that that program had been cut.

She later received a text message telling her that the volleyball program was out, as well.

"I had to leave my classes," she said.

"I really don't know what I'm going to do," said Hayes, whose major is business management. "I'm still getting over the fact that I won't be playing with these coaches, or having these same girls as teammates.

"I really haven't talked to anyone until now," she said. "I'm still in shock about it."

Hayes' younger sister, Sydney, was also offered a scholarship to play for the Mavericks next year. In addition, four prospects from Brazil recently arrived in Rapid City to go through spring drills with the team, only to have the rug pulled out from under them as well.

The NAU governing board said the decision to drop both volleyball and rodeo was made at a January board meeting, and was made because of dwindling numbers of high school graduates and an shift in enrollment to older students.

The move was also made to bring the Rapid City campus more in line with 16 other NAU facilities around the nation, none of which offer athletic programs.

The timing of the announcement bothers Snyder, a Rapid City Central grad.

"If they could have announced this a couple months ago, it would have saved those girls a trip up here and being away from their families," she said.

Snyder had just gotten out of a class on Monday when she noticed that Lowery had left a message asking her to come to his office. That's where she received the bad news.

"It was the last thing I thought would happen, because of how great this program was," she said.

Snyder, majoring in athletic training with plans to become a physical therapist, is also weighing her options.

"I'd really like to keep playing," she said. "I'm just waiting to what offers come in and see what happens."

Snyder also worries that her accumulated credits won't transfer to another college. "I really don't want to start all over again," she said.

Lowery said his players will be eligible to play next fall, wherever they land.

"We have no academic issues with these girls. That's another reason coaches are beating down the door. They are eligible to play," Lowery said. "There's probably not one kid that doesn't have a chance to get a full-ride somewhere, more than what they were getting here."

Ironically, Lowery said he and Nelson had received an offer just a few weeks before to coach elsewhere and take a good share of the team with them.

"We turned it down, because we thought we were all set here," he said. "Hindsight is 20/20.

"We want to stay together. If the right fit comes up somewhere, we'll probably take it, and bring a handful of girls with us. That's all of their first choice. They want to go with us. Offers will come, if not now, they will next year. A lot of programs change and move in new directions," he said.

For now, at least, Hayes has also adopted a philosophical attitude.

"Everyone has been telling me that everything happens for a reason," she said. "I hope that's true."