Women's Volleyball Popularity

[vantheman1976]

Saw this article yesterday which relates to the comment from @pittdan77 yesterday. Check it out.

pittdan77 said:
You're seeing a bubble of talent emerge onto the college scene all over the country. The number of freshmen that are walking into programs and succeeding is insane. Not all that surprising with the women's game is in the midst of a huge growth spurt at the club level and with fan interest.

It’s time to sync up supply and demand for women’s volleyball

March Madness and the NCAA women’s basketball championship game set new records in viewership and fan interest, fueled partly by the games getting more coverage and better time slots. It’s taken decades, but the coverage gap is slowly closing, and the growth in viewership has given women’s...

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

 

[latz66]

Fantastic sport to watch live as well. It could pass women's hoops in popularity if given a chance and it is showcased more on TV.

 

[ILMPanther]

Fantastic sport to watch live as well. It could pass women's hoops in popularity if given a chance and it is showcased more on TV.

It should be promoted more in my opinion. I realize they’re in different seasons but the athleticism and precision of women’s volleyball far surpasses that of women’s basketball.

 

[pittdan77]

Saw this article yesterday which relates to the comment from @pittdan77 yesterday. Check it out.

pittdan77 said:
You're seeing a bubble of talent emerge onto the college scene all over the country. The number of freshmen that are walking into programs and succeeding is insane. Not all that surprising with the women's game is in the midst of a huge growth spurt at the club level and with fan interest.

It’s time to sync up supply and demand for women’s volleyball

March Madness and the NCAA women’s basketball championship game set new records in viewership and fan interest, fueled partly by the games getting more coverage and better time slots. It’s taken decades, but the coverage gap is slowly closing, and the growth in viewership has given women’s...

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

I was not aware of this article but thank you for sharing it.

 

[pittdan77]

It should be promoted more in my opinion. I realize they’re in different seasons but the athleticism and precision of women’s volleyball far surpasses that of women’s basketball.

The problem is that basketball has been pushed as the "major" woman's sport for a long time. And it's not like volleyball hasn't been popular in certain parts of the country for a while now. It's just starting to become more popular outside of college campuses. I think having the NC game broadcast on a Sunday afternoon on ABC this fall will be a major step in the right direction.

 

[PittMBA]

The problem is that basketball has been pushed as the "major" woman's sport for a long time. And it's not like volleyball hasn't been popular in certain parts of the country for a while now. It's just starting to become more popular outside of college campuses. I think having the NC game broadcast on a Sunday afternoon on ABC this fall will be a major step in the right direction.

collegiate women’s volleyball also does not have a meaningful men’s counterpart to shadow.

the article notes 9 out 10 scholastic volleyball players in the US are women ; and the college men’s game is not nearly as popular - I think there are only 23 division 1 teams.

Unlike basketball - where the men’s game is obviously a major revenue sport - volleyball doesn’t have a men’s counterpart to really compete with.

Even at the international level - women’s volleyball is a top spectator sport.

Hopefully PItt can ride a wave as the sport grows and our program is a national brand .

 

[pittdan77]

collegiate women’s volleyball also does not have a meaningful men’s counterpart to shadow.

the article notes 9 out 10 scholastic volleyball players in the US are women ; and the college men’s game is not nearly as popular - I think there are only 23 division 1 teams.

Unlike basketball - where the men’s game is obviously a major revenue sport - volleyball doesn’t have a men’s counterpart to really compete with.

Even at the international level - women’s volleyball is a top spectator sport.

Hopefully PItt can ride a wave as the sport grows and our program is a national brand .

Nothing to argue there other than I don't know that having a "men's" counterpart matters other than being helpful in understanding the game. It's not like women's basketball is a major revenue sport but it is easier for a casual fan to understand based on familiarity. And it's not like volleyball is terribly complicated at it's simplest level but as you start to watch it more, understanding some of the nuances of the rules and strategy can be frustrating without explanation. My kid has been playing for three years and my wife still can't wrap her head around rotations or what a libero can or cannot do.

 

[vantheman1976]

Nothing to argue there other than I don't know that having a "men's" counterpart matters other than being helpful in understanding the game. It's not like women's basketball is a major revenue sport but it is easier for a casual fan to understand based on familiarity. And it's not like volleyball is terribly complicated at it's simplest level but as you start to watch it more, understanding some of the nuances of the rules and strategy can be frustrating without explanation. My kid has been playing for three years and my wife still can't wrap her head around rotations or what a libero can or cannot do.

And some of us are in the same boat as your wife....

 

[pittdan77]

And some of us are in the same boat as your wife....

Haha. Don't feel badly. Both the club team and the school use a 6-2 so I was just surprised when they moved my daughter to middle for school that the wife asked me why she doesn't have to do a sub with the official anymore.

It would be helpful if someone put together a primer on the rules and advertised it during these games. I think that would go a long way in helping the casual fan. Still, the best way to grow the sport is to get more and more girls involved at an early age.

 

[PittMBA]

Nothing to argue there other than I don't know that having a "men's" counterpart matters other than being helpful in understanding the game. It's not like women's basketball is a major revenue sport but it is easier for a casual fan to understand based on familiarity. And it's not like volleyball is terribly complicated at it's simplest level but as you start to watch it more, understanding some of the nuances of the rules and strategy can be frustrating without explanation. My kid has been playing for three years and my wife still can't wrap her head around rotations or what a libero can or cannot do.

Yeah - basically a clumsy way of saying that women’s volleyball isn’t competing with men’s volleyball for attendance/ viewership.

As a basketball fan- it’s hard to dedicate my time and attention to men’s and women’s basketball- let alone the NBA. So, I spend my time and money on the men’s game.

With volleyball- women’s volleyball has my full attention!

 

[pittdan77]

My kid had the rare Tuesday night off so I watched Bobby Mo play Northern Kentucky last night. Was surprised at how small the Colonial lineup was. They're not a bad hitting team. Honestly thought their defense was what hurt them. But, it was good to see that they were on ESPN+. Shame they didn't have an announcer that wasn't talking about "spikes" instead of kills and kept forgetting you had to still win by two but it's wild to me this game was on.

 

[HunkyPanther]

Haha. Don't feel badly. Both the club team and the school use a 6-2 so I was just surprised when they moved my daughter to middle for school that the wife asked me why she doesn't have to do a sub with the official anymore.

It would be helpful if someone put together a primer on the rules and advertised it during these games. I think that would go a long way in helping the casual fan. Still, the best way to grow the sport is to get more and more girls involved at an early age.

Agree. Knowing the rules more would help with increasing viewership. In my opinion, one of the most exciting sports.
It’s kind of like Rugby and even soccer.
The rules are unknown to the casual fan.

 

[pittdan77]

Agree. Knowing the rules more would help with increasing viewership. In my opinion, one of the most exciting sports.
It’s kind of like Rugby and even soccer.
The rules are unknown to the casual fan.

The Olympics don't help, either, because FIVA has slightly different rules.

 

[pittdan77]

Indiana had their biggest crowd ever over the weekend. Granted, it was under 3,000 but they aren't exactly a national power or anything.

 

[levance2]

Yeah - basically a clumsy way of saying that women’s volleyball isn’t competing with men’s volleyball for attendance/ viewership.

I actually see that as a big opportunity for volleyball. One of the biggest criticisms of women's basketball is that the product is worse than the men's game, which is largely true. Most spectators are never going to see men's volleyball, so nobody is really considering these female athletes as less-than.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

Men’s volleyball isn’t even fun to watch. Hard to believe, but too much power can be a bad thing.

The men’s net needs to be raised substantially to make the game somewhat watchable.

 

[vantheman1976]

Men’s volleyball isn’t even fun to watch. Hard to believe, but too much power can be a bad thing.

The men’s net needs to be raised substantially to make the game somewhat watchable.

Or how about wear an eye patch or one hand tied behind the back....that would be fun to watch

 

[pittdan77]

Men’s volleyball isn’t even fun to watch. Hard to believe, but too much power can be a bad thing.

The men’s net needs to be raised substantially to make the game somewhat watchable.

It's insane just how hard some of these guys hit the ball. The women's game is very entertaining. Not that these women can't bring the heat but the power hitting teams don't seem to dominate, yet.

 

[chrisran24]

Men’s volleyball isn’t even fun to watch. Hard to believe, but too much power can be a bad thing.

The men’s net needs to be raised substantially to make the game somewhat watchable.

Agreed, there’s no long rallies in the men’s game, everything is either a kill or a block basically because they hit so hard

 

[PittMBA]

Agreed, there’s no long rallies in the men’s game, everything is either a kill or a block basically because they hit so hard

Similar to tennis- watching huge serves go unreturned over and over again is not particularly entertaining.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I actually see that as a big opportunity for volleyball. One of the biggest criticisms of women's basketball is that the product is worse than the men's game, which is largely true. Most spectators are never going to see men's volleyball, so nobody is really considering these female athletes as less-than.

I cant say I watch women’s volleyball. I'll watch Pitt in the Sweet 16 and later. But I think its a great game and absolutely needs promoted more. Its a fast-paced, athletic sport....similar in pace to basketball but as others have mentioned, women's basketball is seen as "minor league" to men. People dont watch men's volleyball. Just being honest here but also the fact that these are mostly white American women wearing oddly skimpy uniforms could draw in a lucrative male demographic. This is especially true with NIL and Instagram. That Wisconsin team took that topless photo last year. Not saying you need to go that far but there could be other Livvy Dunne's on these teams.

 

[pittdan77]

Just being honest here but also the fact that these are mostly white American women wearing oddly skimpy uniforms could draw in a lucrative male demographic. This is especially true with NIL and Instagram. That Wisconsin team took that topless photo last year. Not saying you need to go that far but there could be other Livvy Dunne's on these teams.

Thank you for the incredibly stupid take on things and once again laying out your ignorance for everyone to enjoy.