Huskers Set to Play in $1 Million Spikes Under the Lights Exhibition at AT&T Stadium

Source: Sports Illustrated - On SI

Everything is bigger in Texas and now so is the start of the 2026 volleyball season. 

On Thursday, August 27, Nebraska will play in the first Spikes Under the Lights, an exhibition match at AT&T Stadium, the 80,000-seat capacity home of the Dallas Cowboys.  The Huskers will participate in the event along with SMU, Florida and Penn State. The teams will compete for a share of the $1 million prize pool. The evening will start with two semifinal matches before the winners meet for a championship final, with all competitions played in a best-of-three sets format.

Each school will receive $200,000, with the winner of the event getting an additional $200,000. The money will be distributed to the athletes via NIL.

"We are excited and honored to be part of this historic event that showcases the continued growth of women's volleyball," Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. "This will be a great opportunity to face some talented teams in an iconic setting as we ramp up to the start of the season. It should be an awesome night and hopefully a lot of Husker fans will be able to experience it with us in Dallas." The three-hour event will be aired in primetime on a major national network, with specific broadcast information announced at a later date.  

Ticket sales begin May 4 for AT&T Stadium suite holders, followed by a SeatGeek pre-sale on May 7. The public will have access to tickets on May 8. The event is being run by Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide.

"Is there anything more exciting than big-time volleyball in a big-time venue?" SMU coachSam Erger said. "Playing at the Dallas Cowboys home field, AT&T Stadium, and representing SMU and the city of Dallas is an honor. This is the kind of opportunity we want our players to expect when they choose to play here. We hope the Dallas volleyball community will come out and support this team that includes many of their hometown stars as we play in the best venue the city has to offer." While the match will not count towards official records, it could draw one of the biggest crowds ever for a college volleyball match. The current mark is 92,003, which was set by Nebraska and Omaha as part of Volleyball Day in Nebraska at Memorial Stadium in 2023. The Huskers’ home football stadium has a larger capacity, but AT&T Stadium is expandable to 100,000 with standing-room-only. The Arlington-based stadium hosted 103,219 fans for Super Bowl XLV in 2011.