University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Volleyball Aiming Big With 10K Day
October 08, 2024 | Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Georgia volleyball is aiming big — 10,000 big.
"We always want to promote our female sports and our Olympic sports, and we think we've got a great team, a great product, and I think getting people in the community to come see our team, we can create some lifelong fans," said Josh Brooks, Georgia's J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics.
When the Bulldogs host South Carolina at Stegeman Coliseum on Friday night, they are hoping for a full house and to smash the state NCAA volleyball attendance record. The mark of 5,303 was set on Sept. 15, 2023, when Georgia Tech hosted Georgia last season at McCamish Pavilion, the Yellow Jackets' basketball arena.
"Seeing what other schools have done, and seeing Georgia Tech set the (state) record last year, we wanted to take that concept and do something here of the same nature," Brooks said.
Georgia coach Tom Black said he mentioned trying to top the Tech mark to Brooks after last season. Soon after, the idea of pushing for 10,000 was born.
"I was like, 'OK, let's go,'" Black said. "It was an easy 'Yes' on my part."
While most of that crowd in Atlanta last year was rooting for the 10th-ranked Yellow Jackets, it was Georgia that came out on top, 3-1. Last month, Tech, then ranked No. 13, got a measure of revenge when it knocked off the Bulldogs, 3-1, in front of a program-record crowd of 4,022 at the Steg.
Against the Gamecocks on Friday, the Bulldogs, who have battled a spate of injuries since the season began, are hoping for a bigger crowd and a better result. For the players, they know this is a great opportunity to take the sport to a different level in the state.
"I think it's very thrilling, and I feel like myself and everyone on our team realizes that all of college volleyball is growing," senior setter Clara Brower said. "I think that we're all really honored that we're in that period where we can make a contribution to that.
"Hopefully we can pack out Steg — I think it would be something we'll never forget in our entire lives. I think it is our opportunity to make a statement, that volleyball in Georgia is growing and that this is an amazing sport."
Across the country, women's collegiate sports, and women's sports overall, are drawing crowds in large numbers. Women's college basketball and the WNBA have seen attendance and TV viewership numbers soar, due in part to star player Caitlin Clark but it's not just one player driving the surge. According to reports, last Tuesday's WNBA playoff semifinal Game 2 between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty was the most-watched WNBA semifinal in 22 years, with a peak viewership of 1.2 million.
In August 2023, Nebraska women's volleyball set a world record when 92,003 fans showed up at Memorial Stadium, where the Cornhuskers football team plays, to watch the team play Omaha. It was the largest crowd ever to attend a women's sporting event.
"I don't know what the tipping point is," Black said of growing Georgia volleyball's fan base, "but there is a tipping point. And once we cross over that, I think we can really get it rolling."
College softball is also putting up bit viewership numbers — and has been for several years. The 2024 season's Women's College World Series Final was the most-watched on record, with more than 2 million tuning in on ESPN — a 24% increase over 2023.
"A lot goes into it," Brooks said of aiming to draw a massive crowd to the Steg and then having everything in place to deal with the largest volleyball crowd Georgia has ever seen. "You really want to pull every lever you can."
Georgia is reaching out to the UGA student body, all Bulldog teams that will be in town and available Friday night, Georgia athletic department staff and UGA faculty and staff, as well as area middle and high schools, club volleyball programs, and anything else that feels like an untapped audience.
"It's really all the different touch-points and finding different ways to get people connected," Brooks said, adding that the full Redcoat Marching Band will be on hand, as well.
Volleyball in the SEC is growing, too. Not only has the conference added a national power in Texas, which has won five national championships, including in 2022 and '23, but the SEC announced last month that the conference volleyball tournament, not held since 2005, will return in 2025. The first three tournaments will be held at Enmarket Arena in Savannah.
"I think it's an exciting product," Brooks said of college volleyball, "and I think coming off the (Paris) Olympics, where people got to watch sand and indoor volleyball, there is a lot of room for growth. I think we're going to see growth across a lot of sports, whether it's gymnastics, softball, soccer — we've seen crowds increasing in all of these sports. And we want to keep fueling that momentum."
Staff Writer
Georgia volleyball is aiming big — 10,000 big.
"We always want to promote our female sports and our Olympic sports, and we think we've got a great team, a great product, and I think getting people in the community to come see our team, we can create some lifelong fans," said Josh Brooks, Georgia's J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics.
When the Bulldogs host South Carolina at Stegeman Coliseum on Friday night, they are hoping for a full house and to smash the state NCAA volleyball attendance record. The mark of 5,303 was set on Sept. 15, 2023, when Georgia Tech hosted Georgia last season at McCamish Pavilion, the Yellow Jackets' basketball arena.
"Seeing what other schools have done, and seeing Georgia Tech set the (state) record last year, we wanted to take that concept and do something here of the same nature," Brooks said.
Georgia coach Tom Black said he mentioned trying to top the Tech mark to Brooks after last season. Soon after, the idea of pushing for 10,000 was born.
"I was like, 'OK, let's go,'" Black said. "It was an easy 'Yes' on my part."
While most of that crowd in Atlanta last year was rooting for the 10th-ranked Yellow Jackets, it was Georgia that came out on top, 3-1. Last month, Tech, then ranked No. 13, got a measure of revenge when it knocked off the Bulldogs, 3-1, in front of a program-record crowd of 4,022 at the Steg.
Against the Gamecocks on Friday, the Bulldogs, who have battled a spate of injuries since the season began, are hoping for a bigger crowd and a better result. For the players, they know this is a great opportunity to take the sport to a different level in the state.
"I think it's very thrilling, and I feel like myself and everyone on our team realizes that all of college volleyball is growing," senior setter Clara Brower said. "I think that we're all really honored that we're in that period where we can make a contribution to that.
"Hopefully we can pack out Steg — I think it would be something we'll never forget in our entire lives. I think it is our opportunity to make a statement, that volleyball in Georgia is growing and that this is an amazing sport."
Across the country, women's collegiate sports, and women's sports overall, are drawing crowds in large numbers. Women's college basketball and the WNBA have seen attendance and TV viewership numbers soar, due in part to star player Caitlin Clark but it's not just one player driving the surge. According to reports, last Tuesday's WNBA playoff semifinal Game 2 between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty was the most-watched WNBA semifinal in 22 years, with a peak viewership of 1.2 million.
In August 2023, Nebraska women's volleyball set a world record when 92,003 fans showed up at Memorial Stadium, where the Cornhuskers football team plays, to watch the team play Omaha. It was the largest crowd ever to attend a women's sporting event.
"I don't know what the tipping point is," Black said of growing Georgia volleyball's fan base, "but there is a tipping point. And once we cross over that, I think we can really get it rolling."
College softball is also putting up bit viewership numbers — and has been for several years. The 2024 season's Women's College World Series Final was the most-watched on record, with more than 2 million tuning in on ESPN — a 24% increase over 2023.
"A lot goes into it," Brooks said of aiming to draw a massive crowd to the Steg and then having everything in place to deal with the largest volleyball crowd Georgia has ever seen. "You really want to pull every lever you can."
Georgia is reaching out to the UGA student body, all Bulldog teams that will be in town and available Friday night, Georgia athletic department staff and UGA faculty and staff, as well as area middle and high schools, club volleyball programs, and anything else that feels like an untapped audience.
"It's really all the different touch-points and finding different ways to get people connected," Brooks said, adding that the full Redcoat Marching Band will be on hand, as well.
Volleyball in the SEC is growing, too. Not only has the conference added a national power in Texas, which has won five national championships, including in 2022 and '23, but the SEC announced last month that the conference volleyball tournament, not held since 2005, will return in 2025. The first three tournaments will be held at Enmarket Arena in Savannah.
"I think it's an exciting product," Brooks said of college volleyball, "and I think coming off the (Paris) Olympics, where people got to watch sand and indoor volleyball, there is a lot of room for growth. I think we're going to see growth across a lot of sports, whether it's gymnastics, softball, soccer — we've seen crowds increasing in all of these sports. And we want to keep fueling that momentum."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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