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DALLAS (SMU/Full Day Productions & GSE Worldwide) – The SMU volleyball team will play in the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights women’s college volleyball showcase, debuting on Thursday, August 27, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, it was announced Tuesday by Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide.
The event will feature four of the nation’s top programs, Nebraska, Penn State, SMU and Florida, for a $1 million prize pool. It will feature a single-night, high-intensity competition format with two semifinal matchups followed by a championship final; all played in a best-of-three set structure.
The three-hour event will air live in primetime on a major national network, placing women’s college volleyball on one of the largest stages in sports and entertainment. Broadcast partner details will be announced at a later date.
Spikes Under the Lights will mark a historic milestone as the first women’s college sporting event to be staged at AT&T Stadium, and one of the first women’s sporting events of any kind to take place in an NFL venue.
“Is there anything more exciting than big-time volleyball in a big-time venue?” said head coach Sam Erger on the event. “Playing at the Dallas Cowboys home field, AT&T Stadium, and representing SMU and the city of Dallas is an honor. This is the kind of opportunity we want our players to expect when they choose to play here. We hope the Dallas volleyball community will come out and support this team that includes many of their hometown stars as we play in the best venue the city has to offer.”
For the full release from Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide, click here.
This is the second first-of-its-kind event SMU volleyball will compete in this fall. SMU Volleyball was also one of four teams selected to play in the inaugural Paradise Invitational in the Bahamas from September 11-13. The Mustangs will play Kentucky in their first matchup at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mara in Nassau, Bahamas, on Sept. 12, followed by a match with either Purdue or Houston on Sept. 13.