"Can You Believe This Was Once a Football School?:" Social Media Fan Discourse Before, During, and After Nebraska's Record-Setting Volleyball Game.

This article analyzes fan discourse on X (formerly Twitter) surrounding the Nebraska women’s volleyball team’s historic August 30, 2023, match at Memorial Stadium, which set a record for the highest attendance at a women’s sporting event with 92,003 fans. Using feminist standpoint theory and the concept of hegemony, the study reveals how fan conversations both celebrated this milestone and simultaneously reinforced male-dominated sports culture by framing women’s achievements through comparisons to men’s sports, particularly Nebraska football. The research highlights the team’s unique feminist standpoint due to its success and struggles within a patriarchal collegiate sports system, while also noting the persistence of gendered power dynamics and politicized discourse around trans athletes. Overall, the findings contribute to understanding the complexities of women’s college sports fandom and the ongoing challenges of achieving gender equity in sports media and culture.