Collegiate soccer has long played a significant role in the women’s game, developing generations of players who have gone on to become top professionals, international stars, and influential coaches and executives. But as pro leagues evolve and the economics of the college game change, so too does its role in the wider ecosystem of the sport.

On Friday, the showpiece event of the college soccer season commences when Florida State faces Clemson (6 p.m. ET), and Brigham Young faces Stanford (8:30 p.m. ET) in the 2023 Women’s College Cup in Cary, North Carolina. The final will be played on Monday (6 p.m. ET; all matches on ESPNU and ESPN+). But the NCAA tournament began with 64 teams ranging from long-established powerhouses of the game with well-stocked trophy cabinets to upstart programs at varying stages of contention. Over the coming weeks, The Athletic will tell the stories of several teams in each category, so stay tuned.

But first, we’re taking a look at the NCAA players who could soon make the leap to the NWSL through the league’s college draft. The draft will be held on Jan. 12 of next year and players don’t have to register for the draft until Jan. 8, so the draft pool is still very much up in the air. However, what follows is an early attempt at putting…

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska surpassed the recognized world-record attendance for a women’s sporting event Wednesday night, announcing a crowd of 92,003 at the “Volleyball Day in Nebraska” event that filled its football venue, Memorial Stadium. Here’s what you need to know:

• The crowd, calculated by Nebraska as tickets sold for the event in addition to a head count of all team and event personnel — the marching band, media members and others — topped the 91,648 attendance record set on April 20, 2022, when Barcelona beat Wolfsburg in a UEFA Champions League semifinal at Camp Nou in Spain.
• The previous U.S. record was established on July 10, 1999, at the Rose Bowl as Team USA beat China in the Women’s World Cup final.
• Nebraska — ranked No. 4 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll — faced in-state foe Omaha in the second match Wednesday at Memorial Stadium.
• The Huskers won in a sweep, 25-14, 25-14, 25-13. Wayne State defeated Nebraska-Kearney in a Division II match to kick off the event.

POV: you just found out you broke a WORLD RECORD pic.twitter.com/w9a8ZlbaGx

— University of Nebraska-Lincoln (@UNLincoln) August 31, 2023

Backstory

The idea to play volleyball at Memorial Stadium was born last year. Nebraska coach John Cook, who has led the Huskers…