NCAA Volleyball

Pitt Volleyball Ought to Play Penn State at PNC Park in 2026

Let's dream bigger when it comes to the rivalry between Pitt and Penn State.

James Santelli

James Santelli

— 4 min read
An evening photo of PNC Park in Pittsburgh from the right field seats. It shows the playing field, stands, lights, and a vibrant pink and purple sky at dusk
Everyone uses photos of PNC Park and the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline. You know what that looks like by now -- but look at this cool sky!

Normally these kinds of pieces follow the structure of 1. Present Good Idea – 2. Bring Up Reasons Why It Probably Won't Happen – 3. Affirm It's Still a Good Idea Anyway.

I'm going to flip that framework and start with Why It Probably Won't Happen.

It's really out there, man! Putting on a volleyball match at PNC Park wouldn't be easy, and it would take a lot of resources and money that Pitt probably can't spare right now. Most often a university that takes its usually-indoor sports outside will do so on its own campus: Nebraska volleyball at Memorial Stadium, Iowa basketball at Kinnick, Michigan hockey at The Big House, etc. It's cheaper that way.

And who knows if Pitt coach Dan Fisher would even want to play this game outdoors. If Pitt and Penn State renew the rivalry beyond this season (please do!), another match at the Petersen Events Center in front of a big student crowd would be a natural. Fisher may want the match to be less 'cool event' and more 'major showdown that my team wins.'

The Pitt program will be busy enough next fall opening up a brand-new arena at Victory Heights and planning a championship ring ceremony for its 2025 National Title (hey, let a guy dream here).

Bring On The Spectacle

Okay, we got that out of the way. Now let's dream a bit.

Last weekend's State Farm Volleyball Showcase at PPG Paints Arena drew respectable crowds, with 7,723 on Sunday and 5,382 on Monday. As recently as two years ago, either would have represented the largest crowd ever for a regular-season NCAA volleyball match in Pittsburgh.

The two biggest factors holding back attendance from filling the lower bowl of PPG were:

  1. Pitt and Penn State didn't play each other but rather two Big 12 teams (who both beat Penn State!)
  2. The weather over Labor Day Weekend was capital-S Spectacular, not conducive to dragging the family to a hockey arena for five hours of volleyball

Easy enough to fix: put 'em against one another and drop it outside.

A photograph of the inside of PPG Paints Arena during a volleyball match between Pitt and TCU. The crowd is filling up most, but not all, of the lower bowl

Pitt and Penn State playing at PPG Paints Arena, not against each other, drew local headlines. Pitt and Penn State against each other at PNC Park? Now that will draw national headlines.

Over on the North Shore, it's been a season of people filling the ballpark for everything but Pirates games. At the start of the summer, Post Malone drew 39,641 fans to his concert. Toward the end, the Savannah Bananas circus tour sold out on back-to-back nights. I... must've missed both.

How It Can Be Done

So it's clear Pittsburghers will take any well-marketed excuse to go to 115 Federal Street outside of the MLB schedule, and Pitt vs. Penn State could be a word-of-mouth sensation: a classic American rivalry in the finest American ballpark.

Get PNC itself to sponsor the thing... the PNC Showdown.

For the volleyball diehards: it would be a likely Top 5 battle with superstars Olivia Babcock and Kennedy Martin facing off to begin their senior seasons. For everyone else: it's an excuse to bring your Pitt Fan Friends and your Penn State Fan Friends together for a fun night at PNC Park. What more do you need?

Network options? C'mon ESPN, take a couple hours off from discussing the Dallas Cowboys to show off this TV-friendly event.

Here's the setup: the Pirates' last home game in August 2026 is on the 19th – nine days before the likely start of the next volleyball season. There's more than enough time to get a court built, along with additional seats, camera wells and anything else you might need. Whether you play the match on a Friday, Aug. 28 or Saturday, Aug. 29, there are a couple days after to tear down and hand things back to the Buccos for what is sure to be a thrilling September pennant chase (don't laugh!).

The break that PNC Park has between Pirates home games in late August and early September is the longest one of the 2026 season. It would be a crime not to take advantage of it!

A volleyball match in that setting could aim to draw 25,000 or so fans on a warm summer night. And that would be amazing! By my research it would be the largest women's college sports event ever in Pennsylvania. No need to put an event like this in Happy Valley; not every outdoor volleyball match needs to threaten Nebraska Volleyball's record-setting 92,003 – and it would be foolhardy for to even try to out-crazy the Huskers.

The past two weeks have seen unique venues for women's sports: soccer side Bay FC set an NWSL attendance record of 40,091 at the San Francisco Giants' ballpark. Vanderbilt revived its volleyball program with a home opener on Wyatt Lawn in the middle of campus. As the legend Megan Rapinoe put it: "Women's sports just has the opportunity to try cool shit."

I think that's all you need: Pitt Volleyball against Penn State at PNC Park would be some extremely cool shit.

P.S. Why not play at The Stadium Formerly Known as Heinz Field? Well, it's not as nice.

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