Gophers’ Keegan Cook says volleyball will be in a ‘position of growth’ after NCAA changes

Gophers’ second-year volleyball coach Keegan Cook already feels supported by the Big Ten Conference and his administration entering an uncertain time, with decisions coming from an NCAA antitrust settlement.

The NCAA and its power conferences agreed in May to settle cases involving back payment to athletes for missed NIL opportunities, with schools also set to begin revenue sharing with athletes starting in fall 2025.

At Big Ten media days Tuesday in Chicago, Cook was asked how he thinks volleyball will be affected by the potential changes, including with NIL payments, roster sizes and scholarships in the near future.

“Minnesota has done a nice job in giving us the updates as they can,” Cook said during a news conference. “The work was done a long time ago at Minnesota and other Big Ten institutions the way they’ve chosen to support women’s volleyball.”

Cook, who finished 17-13 and reached the NCAA tournament in his first season, felt Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle and fellow Big Ten leaders would make sure “volleyball is going to be in a position of growth and not in a position where things are more difficult,” he said.

The proposed roster limits for each major sport were revealed late last month when the settlement case documents were filed in court. Volleyball’s roster limit would be 18 players if approved — potentially adding six scholarships in the 2025-26 season.

“There’s going to be more opportunities for the athletes,” Cook said. “There’s going to be more revenue. I have a lot of faith in our leadership. And I think most Big Ten institutions should feel that way.”

National exposure

The Big Ten announced this week that a record 83 matches would be televised nationally for the 2024 season, which includes FS1 airing the Gophers’ first two matches Sept. 1 and Sept. 2 against Stanford and Texas, respectively, in the College Volleyball Showcase at the Milwaukee Bucks’ Fiserv Forum.

Gophers junior outside hitter McKenna Wucherer, who is from Brookfield, Wis., said being able to play volleyball in an NBA venue helps to promote the sport on a much larger scale.

“Volleyball’s growing a lot,” Wucherer said at Big Ten media day. “Those opportunities for us athletes are incredible just being in that atmosphere and seeing those fans celebrate our sport. It’s super exciting.”

Last August, Nebraska’s women’s volleyball match against Omaha broke a world record for the largest crowd ever to attend a women’s sports event with 92,003 fans at Memorial Stadium.

NBC will televise three women’s college volleyball matches for the first time ever this season, including Wisconsin playing Purdue at Mackey Arena and Penn State playing the Badgers at the Kohl Center.

Familiar faces

The Big Ten officially welcomed four new teams to the league last week, but Cook and Gophers senior Lydia Grote are familiar with Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA, having previously competed in the Pac-12.

Cook, who coached at Washington for eight seasons, said Tuesday that his former opponents would “add a lot of value” to Big Ten competition. Grote, who played three seasons at California, said her Gophers teammates are looking forward to the new challenges.

“How lucky are we to get to play in this great conference that’s still expanding,” Grote said at media day. “For me, this is last season here, so I’m grateful for these new opportunities.”