Purdue Boilermakers head coach Dave Shondell yells down court Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Big Ten Volleyball Coaches Working Together to Grow the Sport

Originally posted on Purdue Boilermakers on SI
By Dustin Schutte | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 3:51 PM ET

They say that it takes a village to raise a child. In Big Ten country, that child is volleyball and it's growth has depended on everyone involved with the sport. Over the last several years, the sport has exploded in popularity, receiving more national coverage and occupying venues that seat tens of thousands of fans.

The 2025 volleyball season serves as another indication of the sport's tremendous growth over the past decade. Nearly 80 Big Ten matches will air on Big Ten Network, FOX, FS1, and NBC. ESPN is preparing to nationally air at least 18 matches across its family of networks.

Big Ten teams will play in venues like Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.), Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis), Bridgestone Arena (Nashville), and the Sanford Pentagon (Sioux Falls, S.D.). Selling out these 10,000-20,000-seat arenas on a regular basis is a continued sign that volleyball is emerging as one of the top sports in college athletics.

"It's exceptional. The opportunity to compete in places that have 14,000 or 18,000 people. There are venues in the Big Ten that are certainly daunting when you see the crowds," said Indiana coach Steve Aird at Big Ten Media Days. "It’s a great opportunity for young people to show up and see volleyball on that type of stage and to see role models like these two and aspire to be them one day."

Multiple Big Ten teams are scheduled to play in major nonconference events to begin the 2025 season. No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Penn State and No. 11 Minnesota are all participating in the AVCA First Serve events from Aug. 22-25 — one held in Lincoln and the other in Sioux Falls. The following week, Nebraska, No. 15 Purdue and Illinois travel to Nashville for the Broadway Block Party at Bridgestone Arena.

No. 8 Wisconsin is playing in the Opening Spike Classic (Aug. 29-31), along with No. 14 Kansas and No. 5 Texas.

As some of the country's premier programs, those Big Ten teams have earned the right to play in some of the marquee events in college volleyball. Coaches in the sport understand how important it is to participate in those matches and play inside some of the nation's largest venues.

"You'd better have a good reason not to say yes. I think we have an obligation to be part of things bigger than ourselves," Minnesota coach Keegan Cook said. "We have an obligation to grow the sport and that really gets tested in those moments. Are you going to play in one of those venues, are you going to send this athlete to the USA team? That's really where your commitment to the conference or to USA Volleyball is tested.

"When we get those invites, we usually pretty quickly say yes. We're not the only decision makers now when it comes to playing in some of those venues or in those preseason events. But yeah, the fact that we're playing matches in front of crowds of 10,000 plus and filling those venues with ease is awesome."

A group effort to grow the sport of volleyball

It may have seemed like college volleyball's popularity grew overnight on Aug. 30, 2023. That was the night when Nebraska hosted Omaha at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln in front of a crowd of 92,003 fans, setting a new attendance record for any women's sport.

That was a major accomplishment for the Huskers and volleyball, but it was the result of decades of hard work. Coaches like John Cook (Nebraska), Kelly Sheffield (Wisconsin), Mary Wise (Florida), and several others helped pave the way for the sport to grow.

Only a few decades ago, most volleyball matches would attract only a few hundred fans. Now, sellouts are a common occurrence for several Big Ten programs.

"To sit back at this stage of my career and see the sport continue to explode the way that it has, it just brings a certain amount of joy," Purdue coach Dave Shondell said. "I hope that our players understand that it wasn't always this way. That's kind of what they've grown up in, club volleyball going crazy, now college athletics doing what it's doing for the sport of volleyball. I hope all these athletes can appreciate what people before them did to get to where we are now."

Yes, the competition in college volleyball is fierce, but there's also a collaborative effort to grow the game in the Big Ten. It was something that second-year Northwestern coach Tim Nollan learned quickly in 2024, his first season in the league after an eight-year run at Grand Canyon.

Now, he's hoping to take what he learned in his first season at Northwestern and do his part in helping grow the sport within the Big Ten and across the country.

"I think what really surprised me the most was how much the other coaches care about the league and volleyball, not just their own programs. I think that was a good reminder to make sure that we're trying to help grow the game," Nollan said at Big Ten Media Days.

"I think seeing how driven the other head coaches were to really invest in the game and invest in the sport and help the next generation of coaches and really help the next generation of athletes was really special to me and something I do not take lightly."

This article first appeared on Purdue Boilermakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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