Big Ten Volleyball Tournament To Debut In 2026
Apr 16 | Women's Volleyball
ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference has announced the inaugural tournament November 20-25, 2026, at Fishers Event Center, home of Major League Volleyball's Indy Ignite, reflecting the conference's continued commitment to the growth, visibility and investment in women's sports.
"For the first time in its history, the Big Ten Conference will determine its volleyball champion with a postseason tournament featuring the best volleyball teams in the country," said Commissioner Tony Petitti. "We look forward to bringing the nation's top talent together for an entire week of exhilarating competition culminating in the crowning of the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament Champion."
The top 15 teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament, bringing the nation's premier volleyball programs together in one venue for the first time.
Three matches will be played in the opening round of the tournament, followed by four second-round matches. The competition will then progress through the quarterfinals and semifinals, culminating with the championship match slated for November 25. One off day will be built into the tournament schedule.
The Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single, round-robin format to account for the tournament. Television designations and ticket information will be distributed at a later date.
Big Ten volleyball has long represented the premier collection of programs in the sport, with current conference schools combining for 22 NCAA Division I Championships, including winning 12 of the last 20. Eight of the nine most-watched college volleyball matches of all time have featured Big Ten teams, and six different Big Ten regular-season matches last season earned an audience of more than 500,000 on three different networks.
The Big Ten continues to be the most popular conference in the country in terms of attendance, leading the Division I attendance rankings in every season since 2007, as its matches routinely attract some of the largest crowds in collegiate volleyball – momentum that will assuredly translate to the league's first conference tournament.
Fishers Event Center outside of Indianapolis opened its doors in 2024 and is the newest entertainment arena of its size in the region, with a seating capacity for 7,500 fans.
The 2026 volleyball season will begin with the Fifth Annual Big Ten Volleyball Media Day on August 3 in Chicago when the Scarlet Knights and the teams of the Big Ten preview the upcoming season at the Big Ten studios.
Last season, Rutgers surpassed its win total from the previous season nine games into the year, fueled by a seven-match win streak, the longest for the squad since 2012. The Scarlet Knights collected sweeps in six of the seven games. Against Saint Francis (PA), RU swung .456, marking the best hitting percentage by the Scarlet Knights in a rally-era match. In nonconference action, RU played to a 9-3 mark with seven sweeps and a 4-0 home mark. In Big Ten action, the Scarlet Knights set not only a school record for attendance, but the 8,000 to witness the Scarlet Knights take on No. 1 Nebraska at Jersey Mike's Arena marked the largest crowd to watch a volleyball match in the state of New Jersey. RU also picked up its first-ever Big Ten win over Ohio State, as the sweep marked the program's most since 2000 and the first time in either Big East or Big Ten play that the Scarlet Knights have held an opponent to under 20 in a match.
At the end of the 2025 season, Rutgers had captured the best hitting percentage and most aces of any team during the rally era. In Big Ten action, the Scarlet Knights posted the most assists and aces in a season since joining the league with Lily Bolen averaging the most assists per set in a Big Ten season. Additional season stat notables included Aspen Maxwell with the most kills per set since 2009, Natalie Robinson with the best hitting percentage since 2011, Bolen with the most assists and assists per set since 2012, and Maxwell with the most kills since 2013.
Altogether the Scarlet Knights welcome back 11 letterwinners alongside seven newcomers, including Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year, Brooke Baldwin.
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