ESPN announces 'extensive' programming lineup for 2024 college volleyball coverage beginning Aug. 27

Ahead of the upcoming college volleyball season, ESPN has announced a record slate of games that they’ll air across their networks.

ESPN shared the release diving into their collegiate volleyball coverage for this year on Thursday. They will be broadcasting their most-ever matches in network history with over 2,600 in total

“ESPN continues to be the industry leader in women’s sports coverage, with more than 2,600 women’s college volleyball matches slated for ESPN platforms this fall – the highest total in ESPN history,” they wrote. “Games featuring 13 of the top 15 from the final 2023 season rankings are slated for ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network and thousands more hours streaming live on ESPN+, SEC Network+ and ACCNX.”

ESPN included 87 games in their release with 15 highlighted as matches to watch. ESPN+ will stream over 2,450 of those over the next few months.

The coverage will begin with the AVCA First Serve Showcase on August 27th from Louisville, Kentucky. Both games will air on ESPN2. Nebraska, the reigning national runner-up, will open the season with a contest against an in-state team in Kentucky. Louisville, the host of the event, will then play Wisconsin in the matchup afterward. That event includes four programs who have made the national title match over the last decade, including three of them being champions at least once.

As for the two-time defending national champions, Texas will air at 11 times across ESPN. The first will be their opener against Indiana on September 5th in their first game on the SEC Network.

After the regular season, they will then continue on into the postseason. The network will air the entire coverage of the 2024 NCAA Volleyball Tournament through December.

“The 2024 season will conclude with ESPN platforms again showcasing the 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament in its entirety,” they continued. “The national semifinals begin Thursday, Dec. 19 on ESPN, with the first semifinal airing at 7 p.m. and the second semifinal starting 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. Then for the second straight year, the national championship will broadcast live on ABC from the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Ky. on Sunday, Dec. 22.”

This comes after the championship match between Texas and Nebraska to end last season made history in viewership and attendance. 19,727 fans gathered in Tampa to watch the game live. The broadcast then averaged 1.7 million viewers, including a peak of 2.1 million, on ABC. It was the first time ever that their championship had aired on ABC. The average represented a 115% increase from the title match in the prior tournament. It also capped a season with statistics that represented highs in attendance, viewership, and engagement.

Last season proved there was a real interest for collegiate volleyball moving forward. ESPN is now taking advantage of that with this broadcast schedule for the upcoming year.