The Gophers now know exactly how fans will be able to watch them chase another deep NCAA Tournament run in 2026. The athletic department released the television and streaming details for the upcoming volleyball season, filling in the broadcast blanks on the schedule.
The headline matchup comes right out of the gate. Minnesota opens its State Farm Women's College Volleyball Showcase in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, taking on #12 Arizona State on August 28 and #10 Creighton on August 29, with both matches airing on FOX or FS1. That's about as big a national stage as a season opener gets, and it sets the tone for a schedule that also sends the Gophers to Madison, Wisconsin, to face Florida and Auburn September 1-2.
Big Ten+ will carry a number of matches through the fall, including the September 13 meeting with St. Thomas and the November 28 finale against High Point. The conference slate runs 17 matches deep, with Minnesota drawing ranked league opponents in Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue and Nebraska along the way, before the season wraps at the inaugural Big Ten Tournament in Fishers, Indiana, from November 20-25.
Cook, hired away from Washington in December 2022, has the Gophers coming off a 24-10 season that included a 12-8 mark in Big Ten play and a run to the Sweet 16. Minnesota signed him to a two-year contract extension in February, keeping him in charge through the 2029 season.
Minnesota's biggest returning weapon is outside hitter Julia Hanson, who was named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten pick and AVCA Second Team All-American last season, the first Gopher to make an All-America team since 2022. The Savage, Minnesota, native averaged a career-high 4.09 kills per set, fourth-best in the conference, and recorded 26 double-digit kill matches. With a schedule that puts her and the Gophers on national television early and often, there will be plenty of chances to see whether she can carry that production into a run for a Final Four.