The enormity of the world-record-setting crowd that gathered in Lincoln, Nebraska, two weeks cannot be understated: Ninety-two-thousand-and-three fans paid to watch women’s college volleyball in a football stadium!
Equally as meaningful is the aftershock of the ratings on cable TV generated by that ground-breaking match.
The atmosphere was electric at Memorial Stadium on that unforgettable Wednesday night. The fans had a blast. The sea of Nebraska red made for sensational Kodak moments (or our photo gallery by Matt Smith). That it set a record as the largest crowd to watch women’s sports event in history made headline news on TV and in mainstream publications, generating invaluable exposure for the sport
Television viewership that reflected what legendary announcer Paul Sunderland called a “seismic event” for volleyball. Big Ten Network was “elated” when the overnights from the Nielsen scientific survey showed that 518,000 total-average viewers had tuned in, senior vice president for programming and digital media Michael Calderon told Volleyball Magazine.
Such an audience seems likely to set the tone for a season of collegiate women’s volleyball on TV that includes more matches on high-profile linear platforms and culminates with…
