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Volleyball Is Coming to Wrigley Field 👀
Thirty matches and all 34 teams across six days, finishing on Sunday with a FOX doubleheader at a ballpark that has never staged the sport.
Thirty matches in six days, every team in two conferences, and a finish nobody in the sport has seen. The inaugural Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge Week opens on Tuesday afternoon and ends on Sunday night at Wrigley Field.
All 34 teams are in it across ten host campuses, per the schedule NCAA.com published on 17 August. Tuesday alone carries nine matches, from Arkansas and Rutgers at 4 p.m. Eastern to Minnesota and Florida at 9.
A Ballpark That Has Never Staged the Sport
Kentucky plays Penn State at 6 p.m. Central on Sunday and Nebraska plays Missouri at 8, both on FOX, on a court laid inside a baseball stadium that has never hosted a volleyball match.
Kentucky won the national title in 2021 and Penn State won it in 2024, so the first match on the card carries two of the last five between them.
Nebraska's release of 30 March had the Huskers and Missouri first at 6 p.m. Central, with Kentucky and Penn State second at 8, which is not how the card is now listed.
The Cubs' own event page and NCAA.com both have Kentucky and Penn State opening. We are printing the venue's version, on the ground that the venue is the one selling the tickets.
Only Two of the Thirty Are on Broadcast Television
Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, in the release Kentucky published on 30 March.
"Bringing the SEC and Big Ten together for a championship-caliber volleyball showcase, culminating at an iconic venue like Wrigley Field, reflects the extraordinary momentum of the sport. This initiative not only elevates volleyball on a national stage but also underscores a continued growth and investment in women's athletics. We are proud to be part of an event that celebrates the competitive excellence of these student-athletes while helping shape an even more prominent future for women's athletics."
Take the claim at its word and then count. Thirteen of the AVCA top 25 are in this field, Nebraska, Kentucky and Wisconsin among them, which makes championship-caliber a fair description rather than a boast.
Two of the 30 matches are on a broadcast network, and both are the ones at Wrigley. The other 28 sit on cable or behind a subscription tier, on FS1, the Big Ten Network, the SEC Network, ESPN2 and two streaming services.
Tony Petitti, the Big Ten commissioner, quoted alongside him, said the case was participation, sponsorship, attendance and viewership. He did not mention television, which on this schedule is the more honest place to stand.
Two of thirty on a broadcast network is not a national showcase. It is a ballpark with a cable package attached, and the ballpark is worth the trip anyway.
