Everything is bigger in Texas and so is the upcoming women’s college volleyball season.
On Thursday, August 27, the 2026 season will open with four premier teams: Nebraska, SMU, Florida, and Penn State as they face each other in the inaugural “Spikes Under the Lights” exhibition match at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
With a $1 million prize pool up for grabs, each school will receive $200,000, with the winner receiving an additional $150,000.
The evening will kick off with two semifinal matches before the winners face off in a championship game, with all matches being played in a best-of-three set format. It will be a total of three hours aired in prime time on a major network with specific broadcast information to be announced at a later date.
“We are excited and honored to be part of this historic event that showcases the continued growth of women’s volleyball,” Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly said in a press release announcing the event. “This will be a great opportunity to face some talented teams in an iconic setting as we ramp up to the start of the season. It should be an awesome night and hopefully a lot of Husker fans will be able to experience it with us in Dallas.”
Last year in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, all four teams made it to the field of 64. Nebraska went 30-0 in the regular season as champions of the Big Ten conference and claimed the No. 1 overall seed, then suffered a quarterfinal home loss to Texas A&M, who went on to capture the national title. On the other hand, Penn State transitioned from becoming national champions to being swept 3-0 to Texas in the second round. Florida defeated Rice in the first round, then lost to SMU, then the region No. 2 seeded Mustangs lost to Purdue in the regional semifinals.
Potential for Repeated History
On August 30, 2023, the Cornhuskers played in-state opponent Omaha at Memorial Stadium for the “Volleyball Day in Nebraska” showcase. Nebraska’s 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-13) win drew 92,003 fans to become widely known as the highest-attended women’s sporting event in history. The match was an unquestionable triumph for a sport that has steadily grown into a popular draw over the past several decades. A few similar events around the country followed, including an exhibition women’s basketball game between Iowa and DePaul at the Hawkeyes’ Kinnick Stadium in October 2023.
Now there’s a chance to break that mark this season. AT&T Stadium can seat 100,000 fans including standing areas. Some examples outside of football where the attendance has reached this high consist of the 2010 NBA All-Star Game with 108,713 fans and a 2014 George Strait concert with 104,793 in attendance.
Whether a record gets broken or not, fans will get big time competition in a well-known arena with a plethora of fans. As the seasons progress, women’s volleyball will be gaining popularity as millions tune in for each match.
