Nebraska Sets the Pace for College Volleyball Spending

Nebraska volleyball is setting the pace for college volleyball spending.

According to FOIA guru and the founder and publisher of Extra Points, Matt Brown, the Huskers had the top budget in the nation for fiscal year 2024. Brown obtained data from more than 200 Division I institutions.

Brown notes that his reporting is on the Total Operating Expenses reported on the MFRS Report. That includes coach salary, travel, athlete meals, scholarships, sports camps, equipment and more, but does not include athlete revenue from NIL.

Fiscal year 2024 includes the 2023 season, which saw Nebraska win the Big Ten Conference title outright before making a run to the NCAA Championship. In the final, the Huskers fell to Texas.

Nebraska and Texas had the top two budgets that season, at $5,911,267 and $5,426,338, respectively. Another national semifinals team from that season, Wisconsin, had the third-highest budget at $4,679,469.

A record crowd watches the match between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Wisconsin Badgers at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Tennessee, whose volleyball program has not made it to a regional final since 2005, had the fourth-highest budget at $3,969,120. That's followed by Michigan State ($3,871,687), Florida ($3,790,022), Texas A&M ($3,747,561), Penn State ($3,563,587), Minnesota ($3,541,055), and Colorado State ($3,224,595).

Other Big Ten* programs from that season with budgets over $2.6 million:

Ohio State, $2,885,264
Rutgers, $2,858,582
Purdue, $2,811,106
Iowa, $2,668,248

*This was the final season before the league expanded to include Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. The Huskies spent the most of that group, with $2,994,977, though USC's numbers are private and unavailable.

Louisville head volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly — Louisville head coach Dani Busboom Kelly talks to her team during the 2023 NCAA tournament. | Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

New Nebraska volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly was at Louisville that season. With a budget of $2,953,651, she led the Cardinals to a 27-5 record and a spot in the regional finals, finishing No. 6 in the final AVCA Poll.

Brown noted Nebraska's program had total operating revenues of $7,253,488. He said he hates the term "revenue sport," adding that if you want to use the term to describe a program that generates more revenue than expenses, Nebraska volleyball is "just as much a 'revenue sport' as football or men’s basketball."

"Nebraska is a volleyball state, if not the volleyball state," Brown said.

Aug 30, 2023; Lincoln, NE, USA; Fans hold up cell phone lights before the third set between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Omaha Mavericks at Memorial Stadium. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

It should also be noted that the 2023 season featured Volleyball Day in Nebraska, with a women's sports world record attendance of 92,003 for a match at Memorial Stadium.

For more data and analysis on fiscal year 2024 numbers for college volleyball, including who is spending but not performing and exceptions beyond the top two conferences for spending, subscribe to Extra Points.

Nebraska Volleyball 2025 Schedule

Aug. 9 Red 3, White 1
Aug. 16 Alumni Match 6 p.m. NPM
Aug. 22 vs. Pittsburgh (AVCA First Serve Showcase at Pinnacle Bank Arena) 6 p.m. FOX
Aug. 24 vs. Stanford (AVCA First Serve Showcase at Pinnacle Bank Arena) 2:30 p.m. ESPN
Aug. 29 at Lipscomb 6 p.m. ESPN+
Aug. 31 vs. Kentucky (Broadway Block Party in Nashville) 11 a.m. ABC
Sept. 5 vs. Wright State 7 p.m.
Sept. 7 vs. California 1 p.m. BTN
Sept. 12 vs. Utah 6 p.m. FS1
Sept. 13 vs. Grand Canyon 6 p.m. NPM
Sept. 16 at Creighton 6:30 p.m. FS1
Sept. 20 vs. Arizona BTN
Sept. 24 vs Michigan 6 p.m. BTN
Sept. 27 vs. Maryland 3 p.m. NPM
Oct. 3 at Penn State 7 p.m. FOX
Oct. 4 at Rutgers
Oct. 10 vs. Washington 8 p.m. BTN
Oct. 12 at Purdue
Oct. 17 at Michigan State
Oct. 19 at Michigan 1 p.m.
Oct. 24 vs. Northwestern NPM
Oct. 25 vs. Michigan State 7:30 p.m. BTN
Oct. 31 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. BTN
Nov. 2 vs. Oregon 1 p.m. BTN
Nov. 6 vs. Illinois 7 p.m. FS1
Nov. 8 at Minnesota 2:30 p.m. NBC
Nov. 14 at UCLA BTN
Nov. 16 at USC 2 p.m. B1G+
Nov. 20 vs. Iowa FS1
Nov. 22 at Indiana
Nov. 28 vs. Penn State 5:30 p.m. BTN
Nov. 29 vs. Ohio State BTN

Home matches are bolded. All times central.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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