On August 3, more than 92,000 people filled Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, to view a women’s college volleyball match between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Omaha Mavericks. It was the largest crowd ever assembled for a women’s sporting event—in any sport, at any level, anywhere in the world. Diane Mendenhall, a former volleyball star in Ogallala who is now president of the Omaha Supernovas, the state’s professional team, was part of the crowd. “It really was the sport’s coming of age,” she tells First Things. “It was truly an entire state embracing a sport, a representation of who we are as Nebraskans.”
For many observers, the event testified to the success of Title IX, the civil rights provision associated with increased opportunities for female athletes. “Title IX has created a monster—the North Star of volleyball in the state of Nebraska,” said University of Nebraska athletics director Trev Alberts.
It is easy to see why people hoping to celebrate the success of Title IX would point to Nebraska volleyball. More than fifty years after the law’s passage, women’s sports enjoy stronger legal backing than they do fan support. In 2022, every other collegiate women’s team at a public institution in a power conference lost money. Only Nebraska volleyball turned a profit. The program owes its success in part to its passionate fans, whose devotion is reflected in a 319-match home sellout streak. And it is only one of several successful programs in the state. In 2023, every Division I school in Nebraska made the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament. As John Cook, the Huskers’ coach, said in November, “We are the volleyball state.”
