The Most-Watched College Volleyball Match Ever

Texas took home the NCAA Volleyball National Championship trophy for the second year in a row after beating out No. 1 overall seed Nebraska on Sunday.

The finals, which took place in Tampa, ended in just three sets. The championship followed the final four on Thursday where the Huskers triumphed over Pittsburgh and the Longhorns won against Wisconsin.

Texas was the only No. 2 seed in the final four.

Despite competing for airtime with the National Football League, the championship – which aired on ABC – became the most-watched college volleyball game ever with an average of 1.7 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million viewers. The last record was set during the 2021 national championship between Nebraska and Wisconsin.

The semifinals also set a record as ESPN’s most-watched semifinals ever with an average of 1.1 million viewers.

TFL reported last week that the get-in price to the semifinals was $41 plus fees or $63 on ticketsforless.com without fees. After the weekend, TFL ran the numbers and found that the average ticket price to the final four games ended at roughly $151 – more than twice the get-in price just ahead of the games.

The same trend was present for the championship game.

While TFL reported the get-in price days before the game at $87 plus fees or $128 on ticketsforless.com with no fees added at checkout.

The average ticket price for the game landed at around $226 – also more than double the expected price.

The final four and championship will be hosted in Louisville, Kentucky in 2024 and Kansas City, Missouri in 2025.