92,003.
That was the total number of fans who showed up to Nebraska volleyball’s preseason matchup against Omaha at Memorial Stadium, the Cornhuskers’ football stadium.
With music blasting and flashing lights, head coach John Cook led the team out of the locker room with outside hitter Merritt Beason and libero Lexi Rodriguez by his side. With their entrance showing on Memorial Stadium’s video boards, fans started to scream and clap. When the team left the tunnel and the gates with a giant red “N” opened up, it got even louder.
“Ladies and gentlemen, here comes your Nebraska Cornhuskers” rang throughout the stadium while every single athlete stepped foot onto the court with a smile on their face.
Watching this moment live, I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. Growing up, I played sports in a small town that barely had room for one set of bleachers and they were rarely full. Playing in front of a big crowd was something I always thought about, but 92,003 people felt impossible — and I have always been a dreamer.
Selling out stadiums has always been normal for Nebraska. When Cook took over the program in 2000, he won a National Championship. The year after that — and pretty much every single year following — Nebraska volleyball was selling out every game. In 2011, when the men’s basketball team was getting a new arena, Cook took their old one, put $20 million into renovations by adding more seats and adjusting things for volleyball, and continued to sell out every game in that arena.
In the state of Nebraska, volleyball is the hardest sport to get a ticket to.
Last year, the Cornhuskers were second in ticket revenue to UConn basketball at $2.12 million, according to Sportico. Their average ticket prices are $25 for adults and $5 for high school students and younger. If half of the crowd was in each price, they made $1.38 million dollars in one game, which ended after three sets.
UO athletics has the same ability to offer its teams the same resources, if not more with its connection to Nike and other major sporting companies. Businesses and investors are finally starting to realize the benefit of investing in women’s sports, so why aren’t colleges? It’s time for that to change and it needs to start with Oregon volleyball.
On top of the general momentum with the sport right now, there is specific hype around the Ducks right now. They are currently heading towards the highest peak of volleyball and arguably the best this program has ever been, after finishing last season with an Elite Eight appearance that ended with a heartbreaking five sets. They ended their regular season 23-5 with 17 conference wins — surpassing the 16 conference wins from the No. 2 ranked 2012 team. The Ducks won all of their home matches and ended the season with a 16-game win streak before being knocked out of the tournament.
As I sat in the media row of Matthew Knight Arena covering every home game last season, I watched the crowds get bigger and the student section get louder. More unique signs and costumes started to come through the door and fans got more passionate as the season progressed. There is no doubt in my mind that this team could sell out Autzen Stadium.
It has been proven time and time again that people want to watch women’s sports, and that’s true in Eugene. Our women’s basketball team draws in better crowds than our men’s. If the athletic department puts in the same marketing and branding resources that it does into football or men’s basketball, Oregon volleyball will break down walls. They already have. The largest crowd in program history at 7,334 was at their home opener this season against Oregon State. And that’s what Oregon wants to be known for, right? Rulebreakers and go-doers, creating new standards and setting the bar even higher? Then use the elite athletes right in front of you and bet on them. I promise you that they will succeed. Make Oregon a volleyball school. Create a season ticket holder list that is so long that people don’t mind waiting years for an open spot. Generate fans that will build their schedules around when the Ducks are playing. Think big and do even bigger than that.
What 92,003 people did on a mid-summer, mid-week night will not be forgotten. Girls across the country who watched this event live, whether it was in person or on TV, will now grow up not being surprised by an event like this because this is the new normal. They’ll be used to the idea that world-class female athletes draw sell-out crowds. No matter the gender, athletic greatness deserves the biggest stage and some of the greatest volleyball players in the country can be found in Eugene.
