Big Ten Volleyball: Purdue, Nebraska Among 6 Participants in 'Broadway Block Party'
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Purdue and Nebraska will be headed to Nashville in August for a big-time volleyball event, according to a report from The Hastings Tribune. The Boilermakers and Cornhuskers are among six teams that will participate in the inaugural "Broadway Block Party," scheduled for Aug. 31 at Bridgestone Arena. The other four teams are Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and Vanderbilt.
According to the report, Purdue will play Tennessee, Nebraska will take on Kentucky and Illinois will battle Vanderbilt. Each team is receiving $40,000 for participating in the event. The "Broadway Block Party" will be a triple-header event, rather than a tournament format.
The three matches will air across ESPN's networks. Nebraska-Kentucky will air on ABC, Purdue-Tennessee will air on ESPN 2 and Illinois-Vanderbilt will air on SEC Network.
Purdue concluded the 2024 campaign with a 27-7 mark, reaching the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season. The Boilers went through major changes in the offseason via the transfer portal. There will be plenty of new faces wearing the black-and-gold during the 2025 campaign. Coach Dave Shondell will be entering his 23rd season at Purdue.
Nebraska is coming off a 33-3 campaign in 2024, reaching the Final Four. But there's been a major change in Lincoln, with coach John Cook retiring after 25 seasons as the leader of the Huskers. Dani Busboom Kelly — a former Nebraska player — is the new head coach after spending the previous eight years at Louisville.
Tennessee went 15-12 last year and made a postseason appearance. The Volunteers were defeated by Georgia Tech in the opening round. Kentucky finished with a 23-8 record and reached the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
Illinois finished the 2024 season with an 18-13 record and reached the NCAA Tournament. This will be the inaugural season of volleyball at Vanderbilt.
More details regarding the event will be released at a later date.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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