No, this wasn't a UEFA Women's Champions League match. It wasn't a FIFA Women's World Cup final, either.
This was a regular season college volleyball match featuring schools from Nebraska. And it made history with 92,003 fans.
Against all odds, the state known for Kool-Aid, corn fields — and, yes, volleyball — just added a new accomplishment: Nebraska has officially broken the world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event at 92,003.
"Volleyball Day in Nebraska" featured four teams across two divisions: DII programs Wayne State (Neb.) and Nebraska-Kearney played an exhibition match followed by a regular season DI match between Nebraska and Omaha. The event was held in Memorial Stadium, the home of Nebraska football for 100 years. But the pregame announcement made something new clear: "Welcome to Memorial Stadium. Home of Nebraska volleyball."
The largest crowd ever to attend a women's sports event.
— ɬַ Women's Volleyball (@ɬַVolleyball)
Here are the records that were broken by Wednesday's fan count:
- ✅ 18,755 | ɬַ volleyball attendance record (2022)
- ✅ 90,185 | U.S. attendance record for a women's sporting event (1999)
- ✅ 91,585 | Memorial Stadium attendance record (2014)
- ✅ 91,648 | World attendance record for a women's sporting event (2022)
As for all 24 ɬַ sports, volleyball now sits at third place in attendance records, behind FBS football (156,990) and men’s ice hockey (113,411). For context, the next closest contenders are men’s basketball (hasn’t topped 80,000), men’s soccer (about 22,000) and baseball (about 16,000).
The day was a continuation of decades of fan support for Nebraska. The Huskers have had 306 consecutive regular-season sellouts and have led the ɬַ in attendance each year since 2013.
The attendance mark highlighted a special day not just for Nebraska or college volleyball, but for women's sports.
