Wisconsin volleyball keeping a close eye on the Caitlin Clark phenomenon (2024)

Kelly Sheffield, like seemingly most everybody else in the country, watched the Caitlin Clark phenomenon and the accompanying booming interest in college women’s basketball with great interest.

The University of Wisconsin volleyball coach doesn’t begrudge any of the attention women’s basketball has attracted. It is long overdue, he said.

And Sheffield can’t help but wonder if or when that same attention, and attendant media and corporate support, will spill over to volleyball.

“For decades and decades people have looked at things through the lens of what is,” Sheffield said. “And what you’re starting to see is people that are looking through the lens of what is possible. That is a game changer. Certainly, women’s sports have benefitted from that. It’s amazing that it’s taken this long. You see tremendous growth in a lot of areas.

“Women’s basketball and volleyball are in a totally different place than both of us were a decade ago. Basketball absolutely exploded this year. They’ve done a masterful job of showcasing talent and personalities and the media and corporate America have gotten behind that and have been really successful in telling the stories.”

No one’s story has been told better or more often in more ways than Clark’s. The sensational Iowa guard was a staple on national television, from regular telecasts of Hawkeyes games to ever present commercials with the likes of Jake from State Farm to a spot on "Saturday Night Live" trading barbs with Michael Che on Weekend Update.

Would it be possible for a volleyball player to receive even a small fraction of that commercial support? Say, someone like the Badgers’ Sarah Franklin, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Year. Or perhaps Madisen Skinner, the star of last year’s NCAA Final Four in leading Texas to its second consecutive national championship and the third of her career?

Sheffield would like to see corporate America embrace top volleyball players, but he also says it is up to the sport to be proactive in promoting its top performers.

“We have to do a better job, flat out, period,” Sheffield said. “I don’t see billboards of any of those guys in our town or when you’re going into Final Four areas. I don’t see media following those personalities around. There are personalities in this sport that really could be exciting business partners if people looked at it a little bit differently. We’ve got a few on our team.”

For her part, Franklin doesn’t envy Clark, whose endorsem*nt windfall is said to be in the $3 million neighborhood. While the fame and fortune might be nice, it comes with a price in terms of demand on one’s time and loss of privacy.

“I think comparing Caitlin Clark to where I’m at, is a little insane to me,” Franklin said. “I’m indifferent either way. I would love it, but I don’t see myself in that light. I think it’s cool and being in that space is a really great opportunity to influence a lot of the younger girls. But there is a learning curve there because you do have so many eyes on you and there is a lot of scrutiny.”

Franklin suggested that the nature of the sport makes it more difficult for volleyball players to stand out in the same way that basketball players can.

But Clark thinks that with similar exposure other women’s sports could generate the same kind of buzz that she brought to her sport.

“We’ve played on Fox, NBC, CBS, ESPN — you go down the list, and we’ve been on every national television channel,” Clark said in a Final Four news conference. “I think that’s been one of the biggest things that has helped us. No matter what sport it is, give them the same opportunities, believe in them the same, invest in them the same, and things are really going to thrive.”

To which Sheffield says, “Amen.” Or words to that effect.

Volleyball did take a step up from cable channels to network TV this year, with the Minnesota-Wisconsin match airing on Fox following a Minnesota Vikings-Green Bay Packers football game and the championship match between Texas and Nebraska shown on ABC.

This year the Badgers will be on Fox again in the Women’s College Volleyball Showcase at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum on Labor Day weekend, an event that also will include Texas, Stanford and Minnesota.

Sheffield welcomes the increased exposure that such matches offer, but he sees much room for improvement in how the sport is presented.

“There could be so much more growth,” he said. “We played a game on Fox this year, which was great and we set a record for that. And they had an NFL studio show talking for 45 minutes leading into that game and there was nothing about the volleyball match that followed. Nothing.

“Over half the games in our tournament are not on television. None of the first or second round, over half the games, are not on TV. When you watch the women’s basketball tournament you could watch a first-round game between teams that had nothing to do with Iowa or LSU or South Carolina and they’re constantly talking about those schools on national television. That clearly doesn’t happen in our sport.”

Sheffield praised the Big Ten Network, calling it a great leader in coverage of volleyball. He also emphasized that it’s imperative that the sports leadership step up and help boost its profile.

“We’re definitely heading in the right direction but there’s so much more that we could be doing as a sport to let this thing flourish. But for whatever reason we’re choosing not to.”