Everything You Need to Know About Volleyball Season Ticket Reseating: Timeline, Costs, and If You'll Have to Move

Change is coming to John Cook Arena.

For the first time in its history, the Nebraska Athletic Department is conducting a reseating process for volleyball season ticket holders.

The Athletic Department sent an email to current season ticket holders on Wednesday morning, outlining the process and providing information about who will have access to tickets in the newly expanded Cook Arena, which will have a capacity of more than 10,000 in 2026. Construction is expected to begin next spring after the last big event there in early March.

The reset was deemed necessary because the current ticket market is undervalued. When volleyball moved from the NU Coliseum to the Devaney Center in 2013, ticket holders were given roughly the same location in the new arena.

Renewal rates for season tickets are at 99%, which is practically unheard of in the industry. Only 20 people came off the wait list each year (when seats weren’t added), which left many interested individuals to turn to the secondary market. Athletic Department officials mentioned that families and younger fans are currently left out. They noted that one trend they observed when playing at Pinnacle Bank Arena, which was open to the public, was the increased presence of children in the crowd.

The reseat will also help generate more revenue for the Athletic Department. Currently, volleyball tickets and tied-in donations generate $4.5 million in revenue. The expanded capacity and new donation levels are expected to generate around $8 million, excluding increased general donations that individuals will make to enhance their donor rank.

The Athletic Department has created a thorough process to honor current season ticket holders, provide access to tickets for their most prominent boosters, and increase revenue for the program. While they studied how other elite women’s sports offer season tickets, like Connecticut women’s basketball and South Carolina women’s basketball. However, NU volleyball has few peers in women’s athletics, so they looked to other teams, such as Purdue men’s basketball, which has undergone several reseating processes in the last few years, and Kansas men’s basketball, which reseats every year.

Here are some questions to help season ticket holders and fans understand the reseating process:

I currently have season tickets. Will I be able to purchase tickets in the reseat?

Yes! Deputy Athletic Director Tyler Kai stated with 100 percent certainty that if a current ticket holder wishes to purchase tickets again in 2026, they will have the opportunity to do so.

The caveat is that they might be on a different level or section. The Athletic Department created a priority list that combines donors with existing season ticket holders, which ensures that current ticket holders will be able to purchase tickets again.

Husker Athletic Fund membership levels — Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska Leadership Society season ticket holders
Nebraska Leadership Society request list
Hall of Fame season ticket holders
Champion season ticket holders
Hall of Fame request list
Blackshirt season ticket holders
Sea of Red season ticket holders
Champion request list
Blackshirt request list
Sea of Red request list
Non-Members season ticket holders
Non-Members request list

How do they know that everyone can get tickets?

Each level has a cap on the number of tickets that can be purchased. This includes renewals and new ticket purchases. The Nebraska Leadership Society can buy up to six tickets, while Hall of Fame, Champion and Blackshirt members can purchase up to four tickets. Sea of Red and non-members are limited to a maximum of two tickets per account.

The limit applies to current season ticket holders who have more than the cap, so some people might lose some of their existing tickets before the reseat if the total exceeds their donation level.

People will also be able to purchase parking passes with their tickets. Nebraska Leadership Society can purchase two passes, while everyone else will be limited to one per account.

Who is included in the process?

All season ticket holders will be included in the process. Suites will not be impacted because those are sold on multi-year deals. However, courtside and VIP seating will be included.

People who use ADA seating will be included in the process. More ADA seating will be created. More information about ADA seating will be available when the design is finalized.

Students will not be included since their tickets do not guarantee specific seats.

Nebraska volleyball fans go through the autograph line at the 2024 Fan Day. | Nebraska Athletics

How much will tickets cost?

Exact ticket prices will be announced in November once the designs are finalized. However, Athletic Department officials expect ticket prices to either remain the same or decrease.

In addition to maintaining stable ticket prices, the Athletic Department has a prohibition on ticket brokers purchasing tickets. These are individuals who buy tickets with the intention of reselling them on the secondary market for a substantial markup. They have technology to track tickets sold on third-party websites. (This is not a prohibition to using that for several matches, but offloading almost the entire season.)

When is this all happening?

With the reseat happening for the 2026 season, the process will move along quickly. In November, they plan to reveal the final design as well as the price level and donation levels for each seat.

The Husker Athletic Fund donor level will lock on March 18, 2026. Donors and season ticket holders will be informed via email, postcards, and text messages of their selection date and time in April 2026. The actual seat selection process will start on June 8 and last until mid-July. The Athletic Department plans to keep the number of people selecting seats low to avoid creating a frenzy when people are choosing their seats. (Some of the top-end donors may have an exclusive window to pick their tickets.)

What if I don’t get season tickets?

The increased capacity will allow the Athletic Department to hold some tickets back and offer a lottery to non-season ticket holders, giving them the chance to attend a match. They will host a lottery in the summer to determine which tickets people will receive.

Also, in the future, people on the waitlist for tickets will be required to make a deposit.

The student section celebrates a point. | Amarillo Mullen

What other changes are coming with the reseat?

Seats will replace the benches in almost all of the A Section. In fact, all of Cook Arena will feature new, comfortable seats. The A Section bleachers will still need to be pulled back to accommodate volleyball practices, gymnastics, and wrestling meets, but bleacher technology has advanced to the point where sections with seats can be retracted.
The student section will be consolidated into one block along one of the end lines. Their area will remain bleachers, which will allow for more people to fit into their area. They will also be seated next to the Husker band.
In addition, almost all standing room areas will be eliminated. There might be small areas left, but it will not be close to what is available now, ringing the walls at the top of the arena.
The opponent seating section will be moved to the lower bowl. Currently, the complimentary tickets given to opponents are at the top of section C11. However, the Big Ten requires them to be in the lower bowl so that Nebraska will carve out an area for the friends and family of opposing teams.

If they are doing this for volleyball, what does it mean for other sports?

After volleyball, Nebraska football will undergo a reseating process in the next year or two. After that, a reseating process is likely for basketball.

While volleyball is the first reseating process for the Athletic Department, it will likely become a regular occurrence.

Nebraska women's basketball's Pack PBA event saw a Pinnacle Bank Arena attendance of 9,772 for the game against Ohio State. — Nebraska women's basketball's Pack PBA event saw a Pinnacle Bank Arena attendance of 9,772 for the game against No. 12 Ohio State on Jan. 26, 2025. | Nebraska Athletics

What if I still have questions about the process?

Reach out to the Athletic Department. They will have tables at volleyball matches starting this Friday to talk to ticket holders in the northwest and southwest corners of the concourse. Season ticket holders can also schedule appointments with a Husker Athletic Fund representative to answer questions by calling 402-472-3111 or Nebraska@huskers.com.

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