Best of Big Ten volleyball: Coaches and players discuss expansion, growth

CHICAGO — The Big Ten, already known as the best conference in women’s volleyball, just got even more loaded, with the additions of Washington, UCLA, Oregon and USC this offseason.

If that news wasn’t exciting enough, there are a myriad of other topics on the forefront of everyone’s minds headed into the season.

FOX Sports went to Big Ten Media Days and spoke to coaches, players and a member of the media to discuss expansion, the upcoming season and the overall growth of the sport.

Let’s dive into the biggest storylines, roundtable style.

Nebraska and Wisconsin vs. the rest

Big Ten Digital Host Emily Ehman: 

“The biggest storyline heading into the last five seasons has been Nebraska or Wisconsin. They’re two of the top teams in the entire country. Nebraska won their first Big Ten title in a while over Wisconsin this past season. And every time those two teams meet, they always duke it out.

“Last year, they were both undefeated when they played, and it was No. 1 versus No. 2. They met in the National Championship Game in 2021, so these teams have a lot of history together, and it’s become a fun rivalry. In my opinion, those two teams are the best, and it’s always a race of, ‘okay, who’s going to get it?’ 

“Obviously, Wisconsin wants redemption. They’ve won the last four of five Big Ten titles, and they have got a lot of star power. You look at Wisconsin, that team’s stacked. They have Sarah Franklin, who’s the reigning Player of the Year. They have a middle in Carter Booth, who is around 6-foot-7. She’s just massive and can thump a ball. Anna Smrek, on the right side, she’s 6-foot-9. They just got a big front row that is insane to go up against. If you’re hitting up against them, it’s not fun.

“Nebraska is a different kind of team, a really good, ball-control team. They’re one of the best, if not the best passing teams in the country, and they’re constantly the best defensive team in the country. They have the best libero in Lexi Rodriguez, hands down, no question. They have a great player in Merritt Beason who came in last year from Florida, and she’s an absolute rock star. And that team, last year, they were really young, but still made it to the national championship. They had no seniors on the team, so it was pretty crazy for them to get there. They went through the Big Ten having only lost one game. So it was a pretty good run for them. And again, a question of, can they get back to the national championship, and can they learn from it? Because they got kind of beat up during that game. It was a pretty quick one, so I think they want to come back.”

What excites you about expansion?

Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield:

“With the Big Ten Network now getting into more homes and FOX getting more involved in volleyball, you now have a massive platform to be able to showcase the sport. It’s huge. You’ve got four teams in our sport and three of them have won national championships. There are only been 12 teams that have ever won a national championship in volleyball, and now we’re adding three of those 12. With those teams coming in, we’ll have six of the 12 in the Big Ten. These are championship-level programs, with aspirations and fan bases that expect big things, and athletic departments that are going to support them. I’m fired up to have those guys jump in.”

Oregon coach Matt Ulmer:

“At Oregon, we’re doing everything we can to give the best student experience possible and give our student-athletes as much opportunity as possible, and so, now I think we have a brighter light shined on us. We have more opportunities through the conference and volleyball programming. The conference will provide that sort of thing for our student athletes. 

“What a gift that you get the best of both worlds. You get to live on the West Coast, have that weather, but then you also get to be in the Big Ten conference. We get to compete against the teams that we want to compete against. In the Pac-12, we’ve been recruiting players who want to do volleyball for a living, as long as they can, while also getting a great degree, and so that doesn’t change. We will continue to do what we’ve done, and it’s made us pretty successful, but now we get a chance to become the best version of ourselves by being challenged even more.”

Nebraska coach John Cook:

“It’s exciting. The best analogy I can give you is this conference is like the NFL now. Anybody can win any day, and it doesn’t matter what the record is. 

“You watch NFL games, they all come down to a couple of plays at the very end, right? This is going to be no different with Big Ten volleyball. All these matches are going to be super competitive, and it’s going to come down to a few big points at the end of the game in close games, and you have got to be able to win those big points. 

“Fifteen years ago, we knew which four teams were pretty good. The rest of these teams are just going to kind of battle it out. Now every team has got a chance to win on any given night, and that’s the mindset you have to have. You can’t cruise through it anymore.

“That’s one of the reasons people like watching the NFL. It’s going to come down to right at the end, and that’s what is making the Big Ten and college volleyball as a whole really exciting.”

Wisconsin Badger Devyn Robinson:

“Just different styles of playing. We haven’t seen a lot of styles from the West Coast, so I’m really excited to see that from Oregon and Washington. And, I’m really excited to play at UCLA and USC.”

Wisconsin Badger Sarah Franklin: 

“Getting to see some new faces! The Big Ten is already such a tough conference, but opening it up and having more good teams is really exciting. Looking forward to seeing how many teams will get into the tournament by the end of the year.”

How does expansion impact recruiting?

Nebraska coach John Cook:

“Even though we are based in the middle part of the United States, we can recruit coast-to-coast now. We used to kind of just stay in the middle third of the country because I thought, ‘okay, they’re so far away, what if they get homesick?’ You know, there’s just more risk. And now, we have interest from everybody, and it’s nationwide.

“Players and families know the opportunity they have playing in a place like Nebraska, and what it’s going to be like with exposure. We really don’t have to tell them anymore because they’re seeing it. They know it, and there’s so much more exposure for them, whether it’s on their phone or TV, because everything is streamed or televised. So they’re very, very aware of what’s going on, and they know what’s at stake. So we’ve seen a huge interest from all over the country. And I think this is another thing that has expanded our recruiting.”

Oregon coach Matt Ulmer:

“This last recruiting cycle was the first one where everyone knew we were going to be coming to this conference, so we talked to pretty much everybody we wanted to talk to. Before, I would say there were only a handful of student athletes that maybe we would chat with outside the West Coast. Now we’re getting players from Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana. Now things are going to shift. Some of these players have never been to Oregon before, and now they’re going to make that their home for four to five years. Again, it just opens up a lot of doors for us, and hopefully that really helps us to elevate our program.”

Growth of the sport

Big Ten Digital Host Emily Ehman: 

“I’ve covered a lot of schools and conferences, but it feels like these Big Ten coaches, especially, really understand what it takes to push the sport forward. They also have the means and resources to do so, so it really helps, which makes covering this conference fun because the coaches are all friendly. They’re all willing to do what it takes to push the sport forward, like putting matches in football stadiums and basketball arenas and breaking records, which certainly helps and also makes my job just really easy and fun.”

Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield:

“The growth is great to see. Anybody that follows the sport sees the excitement and how fast-paced the sport is. We’re doing a much better job as a sport to help grow it and the people that are covering it are able to showcase the game well. You’ve got 12 players in a very small area and the power, the grace, the physicality and the athleticism are all on display. To get in there and see the facial expressions, seeing how you’ve got to work together is great. So many points that are just going to be action packed and the highs and the lows, and we finally have been able to do a good job displaying that. 

“Our media partners have done a much better job, along with the commentators, to be able to showcase the sport in a way that it needs to. When you’re able to do that, you’re able to get it on big television stations where the sport can grow and flourish. People are seeing what we’ve known for a long time: possibility. Every year we seem to top what is happening the year before, and all of us are excited about thinking this could be the best year yet.”

Oregon coach Matt Ulmer:

“My mom’s a women’s volleyball coach, so I grew up in the gym my whole life. I’ve been around some of the most amazing female student athletes, and they all have things in common with their work ethic, their desire, just their love, their passion for what they’re doing. That’s why they’re doing what they’re doing, initially, and hopefully for their journey. But I do think that when you’re making that effort, and you’re delivering this product, it’s really nice when other people notice how great you are. 

“Right now, our country as a whole is in a position to really notice how amazing women are in general, but in athletics and specifically college athletics, and our sport right now is such a fun sport. It’s great to watch. Super entertaining. It’s a great show, and again, our female student athletes put in all the work to make that happen. They’re reaping some of those benefits of all the hard work they’ve done, and all the people that have worked hard before them. 

“One of our players said earlier, ‘it’s about time’. And I think that’s accurate. Everything’s cyclical, and things happen when they happen. But I do feel like we’re at a point in our country and across the world where everybody’s really understanding just how entertaining women’s sports are and specifically women’s volleyball.”

Did you ever envision playing in football stadiums, having millions of eyeballs and playing games on FOX Sports?

Wisconsin Badger Devyn Robinson: 

“Yes, it has always been a goal of mine to play in front of as many people as I can. To have it come to fruition is really exciting. I can’t wait to see more of it this year.”

Wisconsin Badger Sarah Franklin:

“I never thought I would be in this position. Growing up playing volleyball, I just wanted to get to college and play volleyball, so even now, when I see myself on TV or people are like, ‘I saw you on TV,’ I’m like, ‘There’s just no way.’ It’s definitely very surreal.”

What does it mean to you to be trailblazers for the next and younger generation of women?

Nebraska Cornhusker Kennedi Orr:

“I’m just honored to be a part of Nebraska volleyball and the program that we play for and also play volleyball at this time because I know what it meant to me when I was a young girl watching volleyball. It’s so cool to be a role model in this sport, and it’s something I don’t take lightly, and I know our team doesn’t either.”

Wisconsin Badger Devyn Robinson: 

“It means everything to me, especially being a role model for the younger generation of volleyball players and for them to be like, ‘Oh, I watched you on TV and I want to be like you one day.’ It really fills my bucket.”

Wisconsin Badger Sarah Franklin: 

“It means so much to me. It is such an honor to have people like us able to be role models for the younger generation. When we were growing up, volleyball was not as big. You can now see it on TV, and so to see that growth now, that is so awesome. I just love it when little girls come up to us and are like, ‘I want to be you one day.’ It makes my day every time.”

Which FOX Sports game are you most excited to watch this upcoming season?

Big Ten Digital Host Emily Ehman: 

“Wisconsin-Texas on FOX!

“Texas is coming off of two national championships, and Wisconsin won the one before. These are always two of the top teams in the country, and they’re going to battle it out. 

“These teams have two absolutely stacked rosters with so much star power on both sides and two incredible offenses. Throw in they have two legendary head coaches, Jared Elliott at Texas and Kelly Sheffield at Wisconsin, that definitely know each other well, and this is going to be fun.”

You can watch all the amazing teams and stars play this upcoming season.

Be sure to tune into the big Women’s College Volleyball Showcase on FOX and FS1 on Labor Day weekend.

The showcase will feature Texas, Wisconsin, Stanford and Minnesota and the games will take place Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

• Sun, Sept. 1 at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX – Texas vs. Wisconsin
• Sun, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1 – Stanford vs. Minnesota
• Mon, Sept. 2 at 5 p.m. ET on FOX – Stanford vs. Wisconsin
• Mon, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 – Texas vs. Minnesota

Let the games begin!