TNT Sports Adds College Volleyball to Programming Lineup

The opportunity to watch women’s college volleyball on television just expanded.

Penn State will play in the Spikes Under the Lights showcase. / Penn State Athletics

The opportunity to watch women’s college volleyball on television just expanded. 

TNT Sports is officially adding the sport to its programming lineup for the first time ever, as the network will hold the rights to the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights showcase. The premier one-night battle features four powerhouse schools (Nebraska, Florida, Penn State, SMU) who will compete for a $1 million prize pool, the largest money award ever in women’s college sports.  

TNT Sports picked up the rights to Spikes Under the Lights, the women's volleyball event from Connor Schell's Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide. Nebraska, Penn State, Florida, and SMU will play for $1 million in prize money on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max on Aug. 27.

More in… pic.twitter.com/tUaELJ7C8p

— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) August 6, 2026

While ESPN just unveiled the largest women's college volleyball schedule in network history, and Fox Sports is set to air several college volleyball tournaments this season, this move from TNT is another incredible breakthrough for the sport. The national championship between Texas A&M and Kentucky averaged 1.4 million viewers on ABC, becoming the third most-watched college volleyball match ever. 

The NCAA regional round even garnered 530,000 viewers, which was up 32% from 2024, and became the most-watched regional round ever. The 2025 season as a whole became the most-watched season on record.

Additionally, the 2025 season saw the most-watched regular-season matchup ever on ESPN when Nebraska defeated Kentucky, with 1.2 million viewers tuning in. The Cornhuskers set the previous record in August 2025 when 596,000 viewers watched them defeat Stanford in straight sets on ESPN. 

Nebraska made history in 2023 when it hosted the largest attendance ever recorded for a women’s sporting event (92,003) at the outdoor volleyball event at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Spikes Under the Lights has the opportunity to go even further as AT&T Stadium holds 100,000 people.

TruTV and HBO Max will also carry the event. Imagine the viewership records this event can break now. 

About Spikes Under the Lights 

Each program is set to be paid a $200,000 appearance fee, with the additional $200,000 in prize money at stake. The largest portion goes to the winner, and programs are responsible for deciding how the money is distributed among their roster. 

Women's college volleyball continues to experience significant growth in attendance, viewership & athlete visibility 🏐

The inaugural Spikes Under the Lights event at AT&T Stadium will feature a $1M prize purse, the largest awarded in women's college sports.

Via @espnW |… pic.twitter.com/MlyWZRSsZ0

— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) July 29, 2026

Two semifinals will be followed by a final, with all formats as best-of-three matches, designed to fit a three-hour broadcast window. The first two sets will be played to 21 points and, if needed, the third set to 15.  

The duel between the Huskers and the Gators is slated for 7 p.m. CT, followed by Penn State and SMU at 8 p.m. CT. The winners of the two matches advance to the championship game at 9 p.m. CT. 

Tickets start as low as $20 and reach into the thousands on SeatGeek. Broadcast and streaming coverage have yet to be announced.