Nebraska volleyball announces third big showcase of the 2026 season

Nebraska volleyball has added another early season special event to its calendar, with a trip to Las Vegas announced Friday.

Sin City will join Chicago and Dallas as destinations for special Nebraska volleyball events this year.

In the third special announcement in the last six weeks, the Huskers said on Friday they will be headed to Las Vegas for the new volleyball “Players Era Showcase.” To start the regular season, NU will compete against local club UNLV on Aug. 29, then former Big 12 Conference foe Texas the next day. T-Mobile Arena off of Las Vegas Boulevard will host the event.

Big Red volleyball head coach Dani Busboom Kelly said playing in the first year of the festival “is an exciting opportunity for our program.” She added that scheduling new tournaments and showcases, like this one, is intentional.

"Nebraska wants to be at the forefront of new events and opportunities for our players and our sport. Having the opportunity to face our long-standing rival, Texas, is the icing on the cake,” Busboom Kelly said in a press release. “Not only will Vegas be an amazing location to start our season, playing UNLV and Texas will set a tone from the beginning.”

TCU will also participate in the showcase, with two games happening each day.

The Players Era Tournament started in Las Vegas for men’s college basketball in 2024 around Thanksgiving. Last November, the group added a women’s basketball tournament, and now is expanding to volleyball.

According to a news release from Nebraska Athletics, “groundbreaking NIL activities for participating teams” are a part of Players Era events.

On Monday, Nebraska announced it will play in a $1 million preseason exhibition tournament with the winning team nabbing $400,000. That event will be played in the Dallas area at the home of the Cowboys — AT&T Stadium. The Huskers will serve it up with Florida in that event. The winner will hit the court with the winner of SMU and Penn State for the cash winnings.

In late March, NU said it will compete at historic Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. It will face off with another former Big 12 opponent there in the Missouri Tigers on Sept. 6. That match will be a part of the novel Big Ten-SEC challenge for the sport of volleyball.

TV and ticketing information is still to be announced for the event in Las Vegas.