Nebraska Cornhuskers broke the world record for most attended women’s sports event at their volleyball game on August 30th, 2023, says ESPN.
The Cornhuskers broke the record in the Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska while they were playing against the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience…It honestly leaves me speechless… It’s hard to grasp 94,000 people,” said the Cornhusker’s Middle Blocker Bekka Allick in a press conference before the match.
A typical NCAA volleyball match has 5,000-10,000 attendees, but this game brought in a massive 92,003 attendees – that number rivals the average NFL football game attendance (90-99k attendees.)
“We were walking out of the tunnel after the second set, and we heard on the speaker we had just broken the world record. Everyone was trying to stay locked in, but we were also so excited. I can’t describe how grateful I am to be a part of it,” said Cornhuskers Middle Blocker Andi Jackson in an interview with ESPN reporter Michael Voepel.
Naturally, breaking the world record means every record under it was also broken.
“Wednesday’s crowd also shattered the record for most people to see an NCAA regular season volleyball match, set when Wisconsin played Florida last September in front of 16,833 fans at a standard arena,” said CBS News.
Nebraska volleyball fans cherish the Huskers, and it is no surprise that 92,000 fans showed up to see the Huskers’ long-living talent on display.
“Nebraska volleyball has built a legacy as storied as the Cornhusker football team, winning five national championships, the most recent in 2017. The American Volleyball Coaches Association ranked them 4th in the country heading into Wednesday night’s match against in-state rival Omaha,” said CBS News.
Everyone following college volleyball had high hopes for them, as always, and this past game they have met everyone’s expectations and higher.
“Nebraska fans never cease to amaze me… we knew the interest in this match would be extremely high, but to sell out Memorial Stadium is truly remarkable,” said Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts on Volleyball Day in Nebraska.
This match had an extremely high outlook from the minute tickets went on sale, and a long time following. Within 3 days of tickets becoming available, 82,000 were sold; the tickets for this match were selling for $25 each, and some reached a resale value of up to $400.
The popularity of women’s sports has a bright outlook based on Wednesday’s events.