MILWAUKEE — For the first time ever, volleyball is coming to Fiserv Forum and it's set to be a record-breaking event.
Marquette women's volleyball will face off against No. 1 ranked UW Madison at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. With seats sold out and a limited number of standing-room-only tickets, the game against the in-state rivals will be the most attended woman's sporting event in state history.
"I'm just excited that we will be able to put it on a big stage," said Marquette senior volleyball player Carsen Murray. "I think a lot of people think no one cares about women's sports, maybe because they think it's not as intense or whatever. But in reality, people love women's sports, they love the community that it builds and getting to watch people do something they love."
The game comes on the heels of the Nebraska women's volleyball team setting an attendance record in August with a sold-out game at the Cornhusker football stadium.
Jim Pokrywczynski, an associate professor of communications at Marquette, said the way the marketing of women's sports has changed.
"The opportunity is ripe. You can't devote all your marketing dollars to men's basketball, men's football, men's basketball," Pokrywczynski said. "I think there's a recognition that we need to do a little more and reallocate resources because we have opportunities that we'll lose otherwise."
Pokrywczynski said it's the "if you build it, they will come effect." The more marketing there is of women's sports, the "more people will follow the sport no matter if we're talking about television viewing, attendance at games, social media followings, what have you," Pokrywczynski explained.
As an employee at Marquette, Pokrywczynski said he directly saw the difference in the way the university marketed the Fiserv Forum game compared to how it's marketed women's sports in the past.
"The marketing dollars in college athletics have always been heavily skewed in favor of men's sports and this was something that was promoted differently within Marquette... this is not the typical way that women's sports has been promoted."
But it's not just volleyball seeing increased marketing and increased demand to watch games. Over the summer the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand broke attendance records according to SportsPro Media.
SportsPro Media also reports that at the halfway point of the 2023 WNBA season, TV audiences were up 67 percent. It's a stat that doesn't come as a surprise to Greg Ogunbowale, father of WNBA star and Milwaukee native Arike Ogunbowale.
"It's nice to see them on TV more," Greg said. "The awareness is now there."
The Ogunbowale family was happy to see ION start to broadcast games on Friday nights, giving them another opportunity to watch their daughter play on TV.
It comes as no surprise to him that other women's sports are having record-breaking successes, like selling out arenas and stadiums.
"They should have been selling them out a long time ago, so this is a welcome change. It's awesome to see," Greg said. "It's a beautiful thing to see that because of what [Arike] and other ladies are doing in the world of sports, now other girls and other ladies will have the opportunity to showcase what they've got. It's a beautiful thing."
While Greg is happy to see the growth in marketing, he believes there's still more work to do when it comes to promoting women's sports.
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