Louisville Volleyball fans showed the world how it is done! Despite a gut-wrenching 3-1 home defeat that stripped them of the NCAA title, the 2024 season was a win for the Cardinals in more ways than one! But, the peak moment arrived towards the end of the NCAA Championships as fans turned up in full force, painting the town in a vibrant sea of red.

On the final day against Penn State, the Cardinals fans also set a historic mark. The finals saw a record attendance of 21,860, which was 134 supporters more than the previous record of 21,726 fans during the semifinals. That’s two records in less than a week! And a full-circle moment for Louisville volleyball whose season started and ended at the KYC Yum Center! On top of it, hosting all the Final Four matches yielded a big win for the local economy.

Louisville’s economy gets a major boost

As reported by WHAS11, the Louisville Volleyball fans not only set a national championship record for attendance on Sunday but also contributed significantly to the city’s businesses. The reporter noted, “It was a sellout the last game. So make no mistake, for the city here and businesses, this was a win.” And how big was it? Well, as per the source, “The Louisville mayor projecting a $10 million economic boost for Louisville for hosting the Final Four.” 

But this grand outcome didn’t happen overnight—it’s the direct result of Louisville Volleyball consistently putting their money where their mouth is. Back in 2017, Louisville’s investment in women’s volleyball sat at $1.82 million, ranking 27th among FBS public schools. Fast forward to 2022, and the Cardinals had upped the ante to $3.25 million, breaking into the top 10.

In fact, as per Sportico, 2022 was a milestone year for Louisville Volleyball. For the first time, they outspent the powerhouse Penn State, as the latter ranked 11th among public FBS schools with a $3 million budget. However, they weren’t just spending big—they were earning big too. That same season, Louisville brought in $434,000 in ticket sales, dwarfing Penn State’s $169,000!

Thus, to the casual sports fan, Kentucky may be a basketball country. But this shows that it is also home to some of the nation’s best volleyball. And this season, it has directly impacted local businesses, which have been striving, thanks to the turnout.

Louisville Volleyball boosted local business by turning host

Manager Katie Jackson at the local Troll Pub Under the Bridge, right near the KFC Yum! Center, says she has never seen anything like this. “We opened at noon and from the first 20 minutes, we’ve been open for 20 minutes and we were already on an hour, hour and a half wait. Like it was completely crazy. Our bar was nearly full.” Can you imagine the surge of people?

The holiday season likely played a big role in boosting the turnout. But beyond the seasonal cheer, this was also a huge win for women’s sports, which has been experiencing a remarkable surge in viewership lately. It’s clear that the better local teams perform—whether it’s at the club, high school, or collegiate level—the more people want to tune in and cheer them on.

And when it comes to driving that progress, Kentucky schools have been right at the forefront. Just take Nebraska vs. Louisville on September 22 as a prime example. With 684,000 viewers on ABC, it became the most-watched regular-season women’s volleyball game ever aired on the network. What are your thoughts about Louisville Volleyball being the driver of this change? Let us know below!