THE HOME OF NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL
The Nebraska volleyball program begins its third season calling the Bob Devaney Sports Center home in 2015. NU sold out every regular-season match in 2013 and 2014 - stretching its regular-season sellout streak to 188 consecutive matches - while leading the
nation in average attendance in back-to-back seasons, including an NCAA-record 8,175 fans per match in 2013.
The Nebraska volleyball program opened a new era in its storied tradition in 2013 by
moving into a new permanent home court for the first time in almost 40 years. When
Nebraska played its preseason Red-White Match on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, the Bob Devaney
Sports Center became the official home of Husker volley ball. The Devaney Center, which
received $20 million in renovations designed to create the nation’s premier home-court
advantage for volleyball, allowed nearly 4,000 more Nebraska fans per match to watch their
beloved Huskers.
Despite nearly doubling the capacity from the historic NU Coliseum, Nebraska carried
over its sellout streak to its new home. The Huskers enter the 2015 season having sold out
188 consecutive regular-season matches, the longest home sellout streak in the history of
any NCAA women’s sport. The fan support will continue this fall, as NU has sold out of season
tickets. Not only did the Huskers quickly sell out the 7,907-seat capacity, they also have room
for nearly 400 standing-room seats at each match and a season-ticket request list of well over
1,000.
During the last two decades, Nebraska has ranked among the nation’s top three volleyball
programs in average home attendance every season. The move to the Devaney Center allowed
Nebraska to dethrone perennial attendance champion Hawaii. The Huskers averaged 8,175
fans per match in their first year in the Devaney Center, becoming the nation’s attendance
leader for the first time in more than two decades. The Huskers repeated as attendance
champions in 2014 with 8,083 per match.
Although the old configuration of the Devaney Center served as the full-time home for
Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball from its opening in 1976 until the completion of the
2012-13 season, Husker volleyball enters its third full-time season at the renovated Devaney
Center with a long history of success in the arena named after Nebraska’s Hall of Fame Coach
and Athletic Director.
The Huskers have regularly played at least one match per season in the Devaney Center
over the last 22 years, including the entire 1991 home volleyball schedule while the NU
Coliseum was being renovated. Overall, Nebraska carries a 52-11 record (.825 winning
percentage) at the Devaney Center. Those wins have generally come in front of some of the
largest regular-season crowds in the history of college volleyball.
The Huskers played eight matches in front of 10,000 or more fans in the previous seating
configuration at the Devaney Center, including the three largest regular-season crowds in
NCAA history. In 2009, with a basketball seating capacity of 13,595, the Devaney Center set an
NCAA regular-season attendance mark of 13,870 for a match against UCLA. That attendance
topped the previous NCAA regular-season mark of 13,412, which was set at the Devaney
Center on Sept. 12, 2008, when the Huskers defeated LSU. On Oct. 21, 2007, the Devaney
Center held 13,396 for a match against Hawaii.
The renovations to the Devaney Center have done much more than change the capacity.
Massive red ceiling trusses helped create a similar environment in the arena to the Huskers’
former home in the Coliseum. A great wall, which replicates the old Coliseum entry, adds to an
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2015 NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL
atmosphere steeped in tradition. While the new Devaney Center pays homage to the history
of the Coliseum, which served as the home to Husker NCAA Championship teams in 1995,
2000 and 2006, the innovative design and technological advances inside also symbolize the
visionary contributions of AVCA All-Time Great Coaches Terry Pettit and John Cook.
In 2015, the Devaney Center will undergo yet another positive change, as a new centerhung video scoreboard and sound system will enhance the fan experience. The highdefinition video board by Daktronics will hang directly over the center of the Devaney Center
court. The board is trapezoidal in shape and will be 13-and-a-half feet tall and 28-feet wide
on the two sides. The ends of the board are 13-feet, two inches wide on top and nine-feet, five
inches wide on bottom. The existing video boards on the north and south sides of the building
will remain and will be used primarily for displaying stats and other video. Additionally,
the Devaney Center had a new sound system installed in 2015, and the exterior siding was
completed in July.
Nebraska volleyball players have long been encouraged to “Dream Big” and the Devaney
Center project has made that dream a reality. The initial $20 million renovation covered
102,548 square feet. It
included greatly expanded
premium seating options,
while also providing
drastically increased seating
for both Nebraska students
and physically challenged
fans. The project also
included new 10MM video
boards, along with updated
concession areas and
renovated restrooms.
The finishing touches
included a new, grand fan
entrance at street-level on
the south side of the arena.
The Devaney Center offers
a perfect blend of tradition
and technology designed
to benefit the nation’s best
volleyball fans. The Devaney
Center also provides the top
young volleyball players in
the world the best training
and competitive environment