The University of Wisconsin women’s volleyball team’s season came to a disappointing end Thursday night as the Badgers lost in a Final Four match against the Texas Longhorns.
But the Badgers will get a rematch against Texas next year in Milwaukee.
After drawing a record crowd to Fiserv Forum in September, the Wisconsin women’s volleyball team will return to the downtown Milwaukee arena next year to face off against two other top teams in an early-season, four-team tournament.
Set for Labor Day weekend, the inaugural volleyball showcase, announced Thursday, will see the Badgers again take on Texas while the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers take on the Stanford Cardinal on Sept. 1. Matchups the following day will feature Wisconsin vs. Stanford and Texas vs. Minnesota. The tournament will be nationally televised on FOX Sports and FS1.
Despite Thursday’s lost, UW women’s volleyball has become one of the nation’s elite programs in the sport. This year was the fifth time in the past six seasons that the Badgers had made it to the national semifinals.
Texas advanced to the Final Four match with Wisconsin after defeating Stanford on Saturday.
The Gophers finished their season earlier this month with a 17-13 record, falling to the Creighton Bluejays in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Together, the four programs have established themselves at the top of Division I women’s college volleyball over the years, combining for 13 national championships, 17 runner-up finishes and 48 Final Four appearances. The teams have combined to win four of the last five national championships and at least one of the four programs has appeared in the Final Four annually since 2012, according to a news release. Bringing together these top teams for an early-season showcase event is expected to contribute to the sport’s momentum, said Mark Starsiak, vice president at Chicago-based event promotion and marketing agency Intersport, which will produce the event. That’s the same company that produced the Wisconsin basketball games at American Family Field last year.
“There is an obvious growing appetite for the sport of volleyball, evidenced by roaring attendance numbers and record-breaking television ratings. It will be an incredible sight to help further amplify the sport with an elite, early-season showcase on network television,” Starsiak said in a statement.
Along with Intersport and FOX Sports, the 2024 showcase is being organized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, which was instrumental in helping bring the concept to the nation’s top coaches. Many have expressed interest in playing in future editions of the event, which will be staged in volleyball hotbeds around the country in the years to come, according to the news release.
The Badgers in September defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles 3-1 at Fiserv Forum in front of 17,037 fans, setting an attendance records for women’s sporting events in the state.
Earlier this year, FOX Sports aired a regular season women’s college volleyball match on network television for the first time in the sport’s history. The telecast featured a pair of matches, including a matchup between Wisconsin-Minnesota, that delivered a college volleyball record 1.7 million viewers.
“Women’s volleyball is soaring in popularity, and we’re excited to host such a major event at Fiserv Forum,” said Kate Dordick, senior vice president of booking at Fiserv Forum. “We are continually working to bring a wide variety of events to Milwaukee, and are thrilled volleyball is returning to Fiserv Forum.”
The arena has hosted other college tournaments, including the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and the men’s college hockey Holiday Face-Off. Now in its third year, the Holiday Face-Off event will take place Dec. 28-29 featuring Wisconsin, Minnesota Duluth, Northeastern and Air Force.
