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Dave Portnoy is a Michigan man from top to toe. He is nothing if not loyal to his alma mater. Simultaneously, Portnoy displayed magnanimity in the past, when the Wolverines’ football team trounced the Michigan State Spartans. Much more recently, with the show on the other foot, he congratulated a team that has bested his own en route to the championship.

It was in a different arena altogether, though part of the same conference to which the University of Michigan belonged. The Nebraska Cornhuskers emerged as Big Ten conference champions in women’s volleyball. They are also the best-ranked women’s volleyball team in the US. And so, Portnoy took to his social media to honor their achievement.

Dave Portnoy gives credit where it is due

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Dave Portnoy added his congratulations to the pile after the Cornhuskers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes to win the conference championship. They won 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-15) away at the Xtream Arena. Their official X handle celebrated the achievement with the words, “OURS. YOUR HUSKERS ARE 2023 OUTRIGHT BIG TEN CHAMPIONS! #GBR.”?Portnoy replied to that, “Congrats! @HuskerVB! #volleyballschool.”

The win over the Hawkeyes extended the Cornhuskers’ record for the season to 27-0, 18-0 in the conference. It also marked their first Big Ten conference championship since sharing the title with the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2017. Just their fourth title overall, they booked a berth in this year’s NCAA tournament automatically. By contrast, Dave Portnoy’s alma mater finished miles away from the top half of the table.

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Michigan Wolverines 3rd from bottom in the conference standings

In 2022, the Wolverines finished in ninth place in the Big Ten. They may yet end this season with the worst record overall among the teams in the conference. Currently, they are third from the bottom with a 5-13 record in conference play, and 7-20 overall. That is the least number of wins recorded by any team in the conference overall this season. Both times Dave Portnoy’s team faced the Cornhuskers this year, they lost 3-0 (29-27, 25-17, 25-14 at home and 25-15, 25-12, 25-20 away).

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It remains to be seen how far the Cornhuskers go this season. The question on every tongue has to do with whether they can unseat the reigning NCAA Division I champions, the Texas Longhorns. Up next for the newly named conference champions are away games against the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They have a shot at beating their record of the best-ever start to a season, after the 28-0 start they enjoyed in 2005. The sky is truly the limit for the Cornhuskers.

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