State leaders from the worlds of politics, academia, and volleyball convened at Memorial Stadium Friday afternoon to celebrate the announcement of Volleyball Day in Nebraska.
Volleyball Day in Nebraska will feature a pair of volleyball matches—Nebraska vs. Omaha after Nebraska-Kearney vs. Wayne State—at the 85,000 seat stadium, home to Nebraska football.
“We hope that one of the outcomes of celebrating our volleyball programs in the state of Nebraska is that we once and for all establish the all-time attendance record for volleyball nationally,” Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts said. “We’re gonna do this once, and I wanna hope that the number is large enough that nobody dares even try to attack our all-time record.”
NU system president Ted Carter went a step further when calling for a record-breaking crowd.
“I’m just not gonna be happy with 20,000 or 30,000,” Carter said. “We have sold out this stadium for every sporting event we have put in that stadium since 1962. Let’s pack the stadium.
“Let’s sell this thing out and show the world how great we as Nebraskans are as sports fans.”
Carter also spoke on how special the event is with its focus on a women’s sport.
“None of us should miss the fact that we’re doing this in the wake of the 50th year anniversary of Title IX,” Carter said. “This will be the first event of its magnitude to celebrate women’s sports.”
Alberts said Title IX created the “North Star of volleyball in the state Nebraska”.
(left to right) Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Nebraska-Kearney Volleyball Head Coach Rick Squiers, Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach John Cook, Omaha Volleyball Head Coach Matt Burrermore, Wayne State Volleyball Head Coach Scott Kneifl (Nebraska Athletics photo)
“We’ve always believed that athletics at the University of Nebraska can be used to bring people together,” Alberts said. “We’re really proud to have schools from all across our state come to Memorial Stadium to celebrate the progress of Title IX and a women’s sport like volleyball.”
The specifics of the event were cleared up. Alberts said if enough people purchase tickets, the court will move further to midfield. Should there be inclement weather, the matches will move to the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
As for the finances, Alberts says, “this is not an effort for for the University of Nebraska to put on a big event and keep all the revenue.” Each participating school will receive $50,000.
Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook, moments after being named an Admiral of the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska by Gov. Jim Pillen, says he was hesitant to the idea of a match in a football stadium at first.
“One thing I saw in this, Trev’s a competitor,” Cook said. “He doesn’t wanna be second place to anybody. So we’re going after it.”
Cook said it will be a special day as everyone involved is “dreaming big”.
“This is a state treasure,” Cook said, taking a cue from former Lincoln Northeast volleyball coach Sandy Gingrich. “It’s for all the young girls in this state, all the former players and coaches and high school coaches.
“Everybody says ‘why is Nebraska volleyball so good at all levels?’ We have people that work hard, we got good athletes here, and its important. This isn’t happening anywhere else.”