From Youth to the Pros, Volleyball Is Surging in the U.S.
Today’s guest columnist is Jamie Davis, CEO of USA Volleyball.
For anyone paying attention to the sports industry in the United States, it is hard to not notice volleyball’s skyward trajectory. The sport is on fire.
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In the 2022-23 season, USA Volleyball membership increased by 9.6% to 408,000 (the largest percentage growth since 1998), and the growth was reflected at all levels of play, all genders and all age groups. Junior women grew by 9.2%, junior men increased 9.7% and the number of adult members ended the membership season up 11.6%.
Volleyball is the No. 1 team participatory sport in high school and college for girls, and boys high school volleyball numbers have increased by 40% since 2017, making it the fastest growing high school sport in the country. Through a grant from USA Volleyball and the First Point Volleyball Foundation, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference added six new college men’s programs, and the NCAA has granted the conference champion a new automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The excitement for the sport goes beyond the junior game. Until recently there had never been a successful or sustainably viable professional volleyball league in the United States. Top volleyball players had been forced to play internationally to earn a living in the sport. This is about to change—big time.
In 2021, Athletes Unlimited launched professional volleyball in the U.S., and now the league is in the midst of its third season with national coverage on ESPN platforms. This winter, the Professional Volleyball Federation (PVF) will be launching a new league with franchises in seven cities, and in 2025 League One Volleyball (LOVB) will add a professional league with six locations across the nation.
The development of the professional game is significant for several reasons. Three professional leagues mean that many top U.S. players, including reigning Olympic gold medalists and national team athletes, will forgo playing abroad and are committed to participating in these domestic leagues. This includes players such as Jordyn Poulter, Kelsey Robinson, Lauren Carlini, Justine Wong-Orantes, Hailey Washington and Morgan Hentz, just to name a few. It also means that top foreign players will be signing to play in the U.S. We have already seen this trend; all-time greats including Brazilian legend Sheilla Castro, Dominican standout Betty De La Cruz and Thai icon Nootsara Tomkom have come to America to play for Athletes Unlimited. For the first time, world-class professional volleyball will be played regularly right here in the States.
As for fan interest in the sport, look no further than Lincoln, Neb., for proof. On Aug. 30, 92,003 fans filled the University of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium to watch the Cornhuskers’ women’s volleyball team play Omaha in what was truly a spectacle. The attendance broke the attendance world record for any women’s sporting event, besting the previous mark set for a Champions League soccer match in Barcelona.
That massive fanbase has led to greatly increased media coverage over the last few years. For the first time, ESPN has put multiple regular season college matches on their top channel, garnering high ratings, and will be airing the national championship game on ABC. After sustained investment by the Big Ten Network in women’s volleyball, it is consistently the third most watched sport on the network behind only football and men’s basketball.
In short, volleyball is having a moment, and USA Volleyball and our 40 regions are here to serve our growing athlete and fan communities as we build on the sport’s momentum to create a prosperous future.
Davis is responsible for the overall strategic direction and daily operation of the volleyball’s national governing body. Prior to joining USA Volleyball, he was the founder and president of Jomandrew Sports and Entertainment, a consultancy; president of Fanatics, the largest online retailer of licensed sports merchandise; president of the Versus cable network; and managing director of ESPN Star Sports.
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