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The two-day women\u2019s college volleyball event will feature matchups between four of the nation\u2019s premier programs: Kansas, Pitt,\u00a0Stanford\u00a0and Wisconsin\u00a0
\nAll four matches will air on ESPN networks, August 28 & 30\u00a0<\/p>\n
Returning for its second year, the 2026 Opening Spike Classic will be held at the Petersen Events Center (\u201cThe Pete\u201d), Pitt\u2019s 12,500-seat on-campus arena. The two-day event will feature four elite women\u2019s college volleyball matchups; all televised nationally on ESPN networks. The Pete, recognized as a premier venue in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) volleyball, provides a prominent stage for this elite competition and a high-profile start to the 2026 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Opening Spike Classic Tournament Field:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kansas\u00a0\u00a0
\nPittsburgh (Pitt)\u00a0
\nStanford\u00a0\u00a0
\nWisconsin\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ACC schools, Pitt and Stanford, will serve as the home teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are consistently in pursuit of innovative opportunities to elevate Pitt\u2019s storied programs and broaden their reach on a national stage,\u201d said\u00a0Paul Archey, President, JMIS Properties at JMI Sports. \u201cHosting this event is a powerful way to celebrate the success of Pitt women\u2019s volleyball and bring together top teams that rarely meet during the regular season. By teaming up with\u00a0Playfly, we are delivering an event that drives fandom around the sport and heightens national exposure for each program and its stakeholders.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Opening Spike Classic Schedule\u00a0<\/p>\n
Date\u00a0Time (ET)\u00a0Game\u00a0\u00a0Network\u00a0\u00a0Fri, Aug 28\u00a06:30 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0Kansas vs. Pitt\u00a0ESPN2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a09 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0Wisconsin vs. Stanford\u00a0ESPN2\u00a0Sun, Aug 30\u00a0Noon\u00a0\u00a0Wisconsin vs. Pitt\u00a0ESPN\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02:30 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0Kansas vs. Stanford\u00a0ESPN\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited to kick off\u00a0opening\u00a0weekend by hosting three of the best teams in the country,\u201d said\u00a0Dan Fisher, Head Volleyball Coach at Pitt. \u201cFans can look forward to high-level volleyball right here in Pittsburgh. If we want to be the best, we\u00a0have to\u00a0play the best, and\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0doing that right away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Opening Spike Classic is organized by\u00a0Playfly\u00a0Sports in collaboration with JMI Sports,\u00a0exclusive\u00a0multimedia rights holder for Pitt Athletics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing women\u2019s sports has been a priority of ours for years, from our 18-year history of televising girls\u2019 high school athletics to now bringing four elite college programs together for the Opening Spike Classic,\u201d said\u00a0Julie Simmons, Co-Founder of Paragon Sports Marketing. \u201cThis event reflects everything we love about live sports \u2014 the details, the relationships, and the moments that create memories for fans, athletes, and the entire volleyball community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tickets and further event information can be found at:\u00a0ttps:\/\/pittsburghpanthers.evenue.net\/events\/OSC<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n All of ESPN. All in One Place.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n ESPN offers its full suite of networks and services directly to fans on the ESPN App, providing more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, including more than 47,000 live events per year, on-demand replays, industry-leading studio shows and original programming, and more. The ESPN App gives fans a unique viewing experience that includes\u00a0multiview\u00a0and synchronized two-screen viewing options, swipe-able vertical video and a personalized SportsCenter\u00a0For\u00a0You, as well as integrated game stats, ESPN Fantasy sports, betting odds and information from DraftKings, sports merchandise, and more. These features are available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a pay TV package. Bundling options available for fans include a limited time offer for the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99\/month for the first 12 months. For more visit stream.espn.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n ABOUT PLAYFLY SPORTS\u00a0<\/p>\n Playfly\u00a0Sports, the sports industry\u2019s leading revenue maximization company, drives growth for its partners across the sports ecosystem \u2013 including 2,000+ brands, 100+ professional teams, 65+ college athletic departments, all U.S. local sports networks and associated streaming platforms, and other marquee properties.\u00a0Its fan engagement platform allows its partners to reach and engage over 85% of all U.S sports fans.\u00a0Playfly\u00a0builds and implements custom strategies across media, sponsorship, premium experiences, ticketing and fan engagement offerings through proprietary data, innovative\u00a0technology\u00a0and compelling storytelling.\u00a0Playfly\u00a0operates an expansive portfolio of services with a data-driven and fan-focused approach to maximize revenue yield in key growth areas, such as media, sponsorship, ticketing, premium\u00a0experiences\u00a0and fan engagement offerings. Founded in September of 2020,\u00a0Playfly\u00a0Sports is now home to approximately 1,000 team members\u00a0located\u00a0across 43 U.S. states and internationally dedicated to maximizing the impact of highly passionate local sports fans. The company has been named\u00a0a\u00a0Best\u00a0Place to Work in Sports\u00a0by Sports Business Journal, Front Office Sports, and Newsweek. To learn more, follow\u00a0Playfly\u00a0Sports on social media platforms\u00a0or\u00a0visit\u00a0www.Playfly.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n ABOUT PARAGON SPORTS MARKETING\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Paragon Sports Marketing,\u00a0acquired\u00a0by\u00a0Playfly\u00a0Sports in 2025, is a corporate consulting agency specializing in sports, entertainment and cause related sponsorships. Paragon has collaborated with ESPN for over 23 years to deliver more than 1,300 live high school sports telecasts featuring many of the top teams and players in the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n ABOUT JMI SPORTS\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n JMI Sports is a leading media rights and venue development company that provides management of collegiate multimedia rights, sponsorship sales agency representation, and project management\u00a0expertise\u00a0for the development of collegiate and professional sports facilities. The company serves to maximize each client\u2019s economic potential through customized initiatives, from marketing and branding solutions to facility design strategies. JMI Sports\u2019 signature collegiate multimedia rights partnerships include the University of Kentucky, the University of Utah, UCLA, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University, DePaul University, Columbia University, San Diego State University, University of California at San Diego, University of San Diego, and joint-venture properties at the University of Georgia (with Learfield) and University of Notre Dame (with Legends). JMI Sports also represents multimedia rights for several conferences, including the Ivy League, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Patriot League, and the Atlantic 10, and serves as third-party sales representation for premier sports properties, venues, and events including the Breeders\u2019 Cup, Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, the Rose Bowl, and the Penn Relays. JMI Sports was founded in 2006 by CEO Erik Judson and technology entrepreneur John Moores, former owner of the San Diego Padres. To learn more, please visit\u00a0www.jmisports.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The two-day women\u2019s college volleyball event will feature matchups between four of the nation\u2019s premier programs: Kansas, Pitt,\u00a0Stanford\u00a0and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-256830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}