University of Nebraska Women’s Volleyball Fall Game To Be Played In Football Stadium Sells 82,900 Tickets, Could Start A Trend

The University of Nebraska women’s volleyball team is pioneering something special.

They are planning an outdoor fall volleyball doubleheader in Memorial Stadium, better known as the school’s football stadium.

The current @NCAA volleyball attendance record is 18,755. But Nebraska just sold 82,900 tickets in 48 hours for a match at their football stadium this fall. That will make it be the 2nd biggest women’s sporting event in US history, behind the 1999 World Cup Final. Incredible! pic.twitter.com/aUmwdoysM0

— Springbak, Inc. (@springbak) May 7, 2023

“Volleyball Day in Nebraska” is happening on August 30, 2023, and 82,900 tickets were sold for it in a 48-hour time span.

Prior to this, Nebraska volleyball was part of the NCAA record for most fans at a match, 18,755, during the 2021 national championship held indoors in Columbus, Ohio.

For comparison purposes, the largest crowd to watch a U.S. female sports match is 90,185 fans watching soccer for the 1999 Women’s World Cup at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Nebraska’s innovative idea and phenomenal ticket sales got the attention of other female college sports programs.

Oklahoma Softball Is Considering A Similar Game

Transforming a football stadium into an outdoor volleyball court opens the door for Oklahoma’s softball program to consider morphing Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium into a softball field.

The stadium, built 100 years ago, has a capacity of 80,126 for football games.

Patty Gasso, Oklahoma’s softball coach, says it would be a dream situation if the Sooners could pull it off.

There are more structural and logistical challenges for softball to be played in a football stadium than volleyball.

However, Gasso has indicated that Oklahoma’s athletic director Joe Castiglione is looking into if or how it could be done.

Gasso said:

“My life has been like taking on so many ‘wow moments’ in the last five years or so. I’m telling you, if Joe could find a way and we could find the right time and the right team, I think it would be absolutely amazing.”

What It Means

Female college sports are sparking more interest now than ever before.

The 2023 women’s NCAA basketball national championship between LSU and Iowa received a lot of attention (and ratings).

The advent of NIL contracts for college athletes could be part of the reason.

The bottom line is that top-notch female collegiate programs have the fan following to pull off these mega-events.

Nebraska volleyball selling out their football stadium…Oklahoma softball going to try it too, Texas volleyball talking about a game in Ranger Stadium. I love this, I love it for Olympic sports. It's an incredible way to draw a crossover audience.

I hate that swimming can't be… pic.twitter.com/3laX13Bzpa

— Braden Keith (@Braden_Keith) May 3, 2023

Nebraska’s initiative is a great step forward for the NCAA sports landscape and could be the beginning of similar events to follow.