General view of the court during the game between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Omaha Mavericks at Memorial Stadium on August 30, 2023 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Steven Branscombe/Getty Images/AFP
The biggest crowd ever to watch a women’s sporting event jammed the University of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium on Wednesday as 92,003 people turned out for the Huskers’ victory over Omaha.
The announced attendance figure surpassed the previous world record crowd for a women’s sporting event of 91,648, set in Barcelona on April 22, 2022 at a Women’s Champions League football match between Barcelona and Wolfsburg.
Wednesday’s feat was also the largest crowd in the 100-year history of Memorial Stadium — usually the home of Nebraska’s football team.
Nebraska Athletic Department officials had history on their minds when they announced the unique “Volleyball Day” event in February.
Lindsay Krause #22 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers spikes the ball against Emily Huss #16 and Brynlee Arnold #7 of the Omaha Mavericks at Memorial Stadium on August 30, 2023 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Steven Branscombe/Getty Images/AFP
Husker volleyball coach John Cook and Nebraska state governor Jim Pillen sported cowboy hats as they stood alongside university athletic director Trev Alberts and outlined the plan.
“We’re going to do this once,” Alberts said. “And I want to hope that the number is large enough that nobody dares even try to attack our all-time record.”
The event, in which the Huskers swept Omaha 25-14, 25-14, 25-13, easily set an NCAA collegiate women’s volleyball attendance record, beating the previous mark of 18,755 set at the 2021 national championship match between Wisconsin and Nebraska in Columbus, Ohio.
It also topped the previous record for a women’s event in the United States: the 90,185 who attended the Women’s World Cup final between the USA and China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on July 10, 1999.
Nebraska announced the attendance figure after the second set, drawing a raucous response from the crowd.
One fan waved a handmade sign bearing the message “Beat the Record.”