Following multiple seasons of increasing popularity for women’s college volleyball, the Big Ten has made a major investment.
The conference is the first to host official volleyball media days — particularly significant given that this type of event is usually reserved for football and basketball teams.
The event “serves as another example of the conference’s commitment to elevating women’s sports,” the conference said in a statement. Commissioner Kevin Warren even boasted about it in his annual football media days address last week.
“Some of my biggest joy is watching [athletes] get to shine,” Michigan State coach Leah Johnson said during her media days session. “This is an event that gives them another platform to do so.”
The two-day event began Monday at the Big Ten Network’s studios in Chicago and will wrap up Tuesday afternoon — the same amount of time afforded to football media days. Coaches and at least one athlete from every Big Ten team attended.
The conference also used the venue to announce that 55 women’s volleyball matches will be broadcast across the Big Ten Network and its partners this season. An additional partnership with Volleyball World will include content and streaming of 70 matches.
The timing is no coincidence — the inaugural event follows multiple groundbreaking seasons for participation, viewership, and even brand interest in women’s volleyball.
- By the 2018-19 year, youth volleyball was the most popular women’s sport — second only to track and field.
- Viewership continues to climb: The 2021 championship match between Nebraska and Wisconsin garnered 1.19 million viewers — up 71% from the previous spring season and 119% from 2019.
- In the first year of the NIL era, women’s volleyball ranked in the top five sports for total athlete compensation on Opendorse’s platforms.
“It’s a great statement for our sport,” Nebraska coach John Cook said during his session. “One of my hopes and wishes…is this is now going to spread to other conferences and continue to validate the growth of volleyball in this country.”
