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An Exhaustive Collection Of Football Shirts Featuring Video Game Sponsorships

There are two things I love more than anything else in this world: football and video games. Sadly, I do not love football video games as much as I used to, but that does not mean that I don’t get to enjoy, and even occasionally get excited about, the two things coming together regardless. See, […]

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An Exhaustive Collection Of Football Shirts Featuring Video Game Sponsorships

There are two things I love more than anything else in this world: football and video games. Sadly, I do not love football video games as much as I used to, but that does not mean that I don’t get to enjoy, and even occasionally get excited about, the two things coming together regardless.

See, my love of football (and of some overlapping stuff like fashion and design) has meant that over the years I’ve become a collector and just general appreciator of football shirts. For my teams, sure, but also just for any shirt that is cool, interesting or otherwise noteworthy.

Which means that I’ve got a very soft spot for football shirts that also feature video games, and that usually means gaming companies appearing as as a sponsor on the front of the kit. A niche topic if ever there was one, but you’d be surprised how popular it is within many people’s wheelhouses, coming up constantly in features and roundups on sports sites, online stores, social media and, uh, major video game websites. Turns out loads of people who are into football shirts are also into video games!

The thing is, all those lists–and I include my own earlier effort here–end up being superficial at best, usually just covering a handful of shirts most fans are already aware of. That’s boring, so I felt like settling in and making a more comprehensive roundup, covering as many leagues, teams and decades as I could find.

I’m not saying this is every shirt ever made that features a video game sponsorship, but…it’s a lot.


Image: Football Shirt Collective

Fiorentina

If you asked a casual observer what their favourite video game sponsorship is, or even just the one they thought was the most famous, Fiorentina’s mid-90s Nintendo deal is normally the response. It’s iconic, not just because it’s Nintendo, but because the sponsor matches the club’s colour scheme, and the team at the time could boast legends like Gabriel Batistuta.


Image: Memorabilia

Sevilla

Again, it’s Nintendo, and again, it matches the club’s colours. Plus Diego Maradona wore it during his one-season spell at the Spanish side before his ill-fated 1994 World Cup campaign.


Image: Old Football Kits

Anorthosis

Hello, what’s this? Well, this is an even earlier Nintendo sponsorship. In 1992 the company sponsored Cypriot club Anorthosis, who wore the above shirt in a two-legged tie against Juventus in the UEFA Cup, which saw them lose 10-1 on aggregate. Ah well, at least the kit was great.


Image: Kyoto Sanga FC

Kyoto Sanga

I’ve written extensively about this club and its ties with Nintendo, which run so deep (and feature everything from Mario Sunshine to Splatoon) I can’t possibly condense them into a single paragraph. So go read this instead.


Image: Classic Football Shirts

Montpellier

We’re going to see a few PlayStation shirts in this roundup, but this Montpellier kit, for the original console, remains one of the nicest. Another French league club, Monaco, also had a PlayStation 1 sponsorship around the same time.


Image: Classic Football Shirts

Auxerre

There may have been others, but when it comes to French clubs and PlayStation sponsorship Auxerre is easily the most famous. The club’s PlayStation contract spanned multiple consoles, from the PS1 through to the PS2, and this wetsuit-like away kit is probably my favourite.


Image: Lou Lou

Auxerre

An epilogue! Auxerre and PlayStation went so hand-in-hand that in 2005-06 their Uhlsport kits went as far as moving the manufacturer’s logo under the neck to accommodate a second PlayStation branding on the same shirt, this time for the PSP.


Image: Seattle Sounders

Seattle Sounders

Few video game sponsorships have been as comprehensive as that between Microsoft and the Seattle Sounders, a club that wasn’t just from the same city as the Xbox, but even shared the same volt green colour palette. Their deal, spanning several years, saw Sounders jerseys emblazoned with everything from Xbox to Game Pass to Xbox Live to individual games like Halo and Gears of War. More recently, Xbox also sponsored Fresh Ego FC, a group that uses football “to raise awareness surrounding mental health and racism in football by bringing together top talent from sport and music”.


Image: The Vault

Arsenal

Another classic, and if you didn’t rank Fiorentina as the most famous video game sponsorship, you’re probably saying this turn-of-the-millennium masterpiece in its place. But Sega’s console didn’t just grace the front of Henry, Bergkamp and co’s shirts; in the same timeframe they also sponsored St Etienne, Deportivo de la Coruña and Sampdoria, whose away shirt replaced Dreamcast with Dreamarena, the console’s ill-fated online service.


Image: Football Shirt Collective

Arsenal

As part of the same deal, not every shirt ended up bearing the Dreamcast logo; some (like this away kit) simply used Sega’s branding instead. For a more recent example, in 2023 Sega sponsored London Falcons FC, an amateur LGBTQ+-friendly side.


Image: TottenhamShirts

Tottenham Hotspur

What’s this? Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham sharing a sponsor? Not quite: in the mid-90s Spurs were sponsored by Holsten, a beer company, so the club’s juniors kits had to bear the logo of a company that was a bit more child-friendly. Also, this contract was up before Sega’s appearance on Arsenal’s kits. This same conundrum was repeated 20 years later, when Crystal Palace, at the time sponsored by an online casino, got an EA Sports sponsorship for their junior sides.


Image: Top Vintage

Chelsea

In early 90s Chelsea were sponsored by Commodore, and would wear the logos of both the parent company as well as its Amiga computer. I’ve chosen Amiga for the photo here because other clubs wore the Commodore branding first, and better….


Image: Football Shirt Collective

Bayern Munich

…and one of those clubs was German powerhouses Bayern Munich, whose white Commodore sponsors in the mid-80s looked incredible on those all-red shirts. Bayern also wore an Amiga shirt, but only for a single match, in 1988 against VfB Stuttgart.

It should be noted that PSG also had Commodore sponsorship for a while, resulting in some fantastic colour-matching on the shirts, as did the already-mentioned Auxerre in the early 90s.


Image: Football & Vintage

Manchester City

In the late-90s Manchester City struck a deal with British publisher Eidos, the company behind Tomb Raider, the original Deus Ex and Thief.


Image: Classic Football Shirts

FC Martigues

FC Martigues, a team in France’s second division, were once sponsored not by Ocean, the once-mighty British publisher, but one of Ocean’s games in particular: the PC version of Jurassic Park, not to be confused with the SNES version, or the Mega Drive version, as all three were different games. What makes this even more interesting is that for the white away shirt they just…made the Jurassic Park logo bigger and replaced the club’s crest with Ocean’s logo, something that would be gross even by today’s standards.


Image: camisas_vieira 

Cerezo Osaka

Japanese side Cerezo Osaka have had a long relationship with hometown heroes Capcom, which in recent years has seen the publisher’s logo appear everywhere from training shirts to shorts. Their 90s kits, though, with Capcom on the front and back of the shirt, are obviously the most famous.


Image: Old Football Shirts

Tokyo Verdy

Another Japanese club with a famous video game collaboration was Tokyo Verdy in the 90s, who had Konami sponsorships on the sleeves, the front of the kit and sometimes, like above, both at the same time.


Image: Lazio

Lazio

I hate this sponsorship so much. It’s so lazy–looking like someone just dragged the game’s logo.png onto a shirt and hit “print”, without any thought to scale or colours–but also it’s Lazio, and fuck Lazio.


Image: Konami

Corinthians

A decade later than Lazio’s deal, Brazilian side Corinthians also did a sponsorship with Konami for PES2019, which included a licensing deal for the game itself (see above). Note that the PES logo is for some reason at the bottom of the shirt, making it only visible if a player’s jersey was untucked. Fellow Brazilian side Sao Paolo had a similar PES sponsorship that year, too.


Image: Japan Football Shirts

JEF United

Back to Japan! JEF United have had a few shirts with Sega sponsorship, some with just the logo, others also featuring Sonic. Not for any game in particular, just because he’s Sonic. I like this keeper shirt worn between 1993-1995 the best.


Image: Classic Football Shirts

AFC Wimbledon

Sports Interactive, developers of the Football Manager series, sponsored AFC Wimbledon between 2002-2023, sometimes using their own logo, other times that of the game. Football Manager also appeared on Watford’s kits in 2012.


Image: Swindon Town

Swindon Town

Swindon Town–a club that has spent most of the last two decades in the lower two divisions of English league football–had a prominent FIFA sponsorship on the front of their kits for a few years through the 2010s, enough to land them on many of these kinds of roundups, though they weren’t actually the first, that honour going to Accrington Stanley in 2006 and Mansfield Town in 2007.


Image: Club America

Club America

This is a fresh one! Bandai Namco had a one-off sponsorship deal with Club America earlier this month, and it’s one of the best: holographic player names and numbers, full of Pac-Man visuals, looked amazing, and the club’s crest was temporarily changed to include Pac-Man as well.


Image: Classic Football Shirts

Lyon

For a while in the early 2000s French side Lyon were sponsored by Infogrames, a publisher which at the time was using Atari as a sub-label for their publishing operations. So Atari would sometimes feature on Lyon’s kits as well (Infogrames would later rebrand to Atari in 2003).


Image: ATLshirts

Atletico Madrid

For one season in the mid-90s, Atletico Madrid were sponsored by Bandai, which was cool, but even cooler was the fact that for a single game–the Madrid derby with rivals Real–they wore a Tamagotchi kit instead.


Image: EA Sports

Premier League Referees

Not strictly a playing kit, but close enough: for years now EA Sports has had a deal with the Premier League where combinations of EA Sports, FIFA and now EAFC logos have appeared on official’s uniforms.


Image: Stevenage

Stevenage Town

I hate the Lazio + PES deal the most for political reasons, but Stevenage Town’s pathetic Prime Gaming sponsorship from a few years back comes a very close second. It’s just so boring. It’s a pointless service, and even the sponsorship application itself is cheap, looking more like an iron-on transfer. In case you were wondering if things have improved since, Stevenage are currently sponsored by another video game company…Xsolla, a games-focused payments and commerce platform. Boring!


Image: Burnley

Burnley

When English football started allowing sleeve sponsorships a few years back, mobile publishers like Playdemic were all over it, pushing games like Golf Crash on Burnley’s kit. I like that this photo features Matt Lowton on the right, who while at Villa scored one of the best goals for a terrible side you will ever see.


Image: Everton

Everton

See above. While Golf Crush made it look like every Burnley kit was on deep discount at Sports Direct, at least Everton’s Angry Birds deal managed to match the rest of the shirt.


Image: eBay

Leyton Orient

For two seasons, between 1995-1997, English club Leyton Orient were sponsored by Acclaim, the publisher riding high with hits like NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat. It should be noted that Orient were not riding quite as high at the time.


Image: Charly

Liga MX

In 2024 Activision made a deal with both a sportswear manufacturer (Charly) and six sides playing in Mexico’s Liga MX, which saw each Charly team wear special shirts emblazoned with Call of Duty graphics. Note there were no specific Activision or even Call of Duty logos used; instead each shirt had a sublimated print of stuff like a camouflage pattern or skull logo from the series.


Image: Athletic Club

Athletic Club

Another recent one! Earlier this month Spanish side Athletic Club, aka Athletic Bilbao, wore The Last Of Us branding for two games, one across the chest, another on their sleeves. While this is technically for the TV show, it’s a TV show based very closely on a video game, so I’m going to allow it.


Image: Yahoo! Auctions

Atletico Madrid

Hey, it’s Atletico Madrid again! This time with another limited sponsorship, from the 2004-2005 season, where the team wore a variety of movie tie-ins (including the famous Spider-Man shirt). One of those movies was Resident Evil 2, which for the same rules as The Last Of Us above, I’m going to allow.


Image: Stonewall FC

Stonewall FC

In 2020 EA Sports began sponsoring Stonewall FC, “the world’s most successful LGBT+ football club”, a deal that continues to this day. Some shirts have featured the EA Sports logo, others that of EA Sports FC, and the club’s full range of kits usually combine to form (or are, like the shirt above, simply in) the colours of the trans flag. They rule.


Image: Juventus

Juventus

Cygames, the Japanese developer behind games like Granblue Fantasy, has been sponsoring Juventus for a few seasons now, and recently renewed the deal to extend until at least 2026.


Image: YouTube

Santos

For the Copa Libertadores final in 2021, Brazilian club Santos signed a one-off sponsorship with Epic Games that saw Fortnite’s logo placed centrally (among loads of other sponsors) on the front of their kits. Santos would end up losing the final to Palmeiras.


Image: eBay

Sheffield United

Between 2000-2002 Midas Games, a publisher of bargain-bin favourites like American Pool and Go Go Golf, sponsored Sheffield United in what was then still known as Division Two (and is now the Championship).


Image: San Diego Loyal

San Diego Loyal

The Loyal are sadly no longer with us, having been “dissolved” as American sports likes to call it, in 2023. We’ll always have the memories of this Rocket League sponsorship, though, which adorned their kits in 2022.

(thanks xK1!)


Thank you for indulging me.

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Falcons complete their first sand volleyball season | Sports

Congratulations to the Forest Lake Christian Falcons varsity sand volleyball team for ending the season on top! The Falcons finished first overall; they were undefeated as a team. The Falcons’ doubles A team was undefeated. The B team was six and one, and the C team went five and two. The Falcons faced off against […]

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Congratulations to the Forest Lake Christian Falcons varsity sand volleyball team for ending the season on top! The Falcons finished first overall; they were undefeated as a team. The Falcons’ doubles A team was undefeated. The B team was six and one, and the C team went five and two. The Falcons faced off against the John Adams Academy Patriots, Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning/Ghidotti Fire Wloves, Encina Bulldogs, and the St. Mary’s Rams.

Coach Emily O’Neill attributes the team’s success to their dedication to learning a new sport. “Every time they get a chance to be on that court, they are at lunch after school. Many of our kids play multiple sports, and they’ll be playing after those practices. The news of a sand team has spread like wildfire. We’re looking into developing a coed team as well. Very excited for next year!”



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Water polo coach accused of retaliation after abuse probe

On April 8, Stanford announced to investigation participants that an external investigator had been hired to conduct an investigation into men’s water polo head coach Brian Flacks for alleged retaliation against his players following an initial investigation that closed in February, clearing Flacks of emotional abuse allegations. Letters to the University sent between August and […]

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On April 8, Stanford announced to investigation participants that an external investigator had been hired to conduct an investigation into men’s water polo head coach Brian Flacks for alleged retaliation against his players following an initial investigation that closed in February, clearing Flacks of emotional abuse allegations.

Letters to the University sent between August and May by parents of players raised concerns about Flacks’ abusive behaviors, intimidation and retaliation. One letter considered by the University as a part of the first investigation, which was reviewed by The Daily, alleged that Flacks’ punishments included “public shaming and belittling, vicious and intense shouting, manipulative psychological mind games, and limiting playtime.”

Families and players now accuse Flacks of retaliation against the players who participated in the initial abuse investigation.

In a public statement made in April, Flacks’ attorney wrote, “He has been fully exonerated and this matter is appropriately closed. Any allegations of retaliation against players are as preposterous as they are false. It is unfortunate that such a false cloud should continue to hang over both the coach and Stanford as they both deserve better.”

Flacks — a UCLA water polo walk-on — served as head coach at Harvard Westlake High School’s Water Polo from 2011 until he was hired by Stanford in 2022. The Daily reached out to Flacks for comment but was told that he could not provide comment due to the ongoing investigation.

“When [my son] enrolled at Stanford and joined the Stanford water polo team, we entrusted both the University and the team with his physical and psychological well-being. We were profoundly disappointed,” a family formerly associated with the team wrote in a statement to The Daily. They chose to be anonymous for fear of retaliation against their family.

In April, two former and 13 current players wrote letters of support for Flacks following the launch of the second investigation. Water polo team captain CJ Indart ’25 wrote in a statement to The Daily that the letter “was written and signed without any involvement or pressure from the coaching staff. The individuals who signed said statement did so on their own volition.” 

30 parents of players also wrote and signed a letter of support for Flacks, writing that “a supermajority of parents support Brian Flacks.”

Danielle Pittman, whose son Riley Pittman ’25 was the team’s 2024 senior captain, labeled Flacks’ treatment as a case of “tough love” and likened him to former Alabama football coach Nick Saban.

“I don’t think it’s accurate to say [Flacks is] unfair. I’m not gonna say that kids didn’t get upset because I think athletes in all programs across the nation and in other countries get upset too. I just think it’s the nature of the beast,” Pittman said. 

The first investigation began in the fall following letters written to the University by parents of current and former players on the team. In one of the letters sent in September, which was reviewed by The Daily, parents alleged that “Flacks clearly does not believe in any ‘positive coaching’ and has said to the team he doesn’t believe in positive feedback. He does believe in practicing under constant and immense pressure, with only negative or critical feedback, and has demonstrated limited patience for any behaviors other than strict obedience to his authoritarian practices.” 

In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, a University spokesperson said that Flacks received a letter at the conclusion of the investigation, which “did not substantiate the claims that were raised” in the initial investigation.

The second investigation into alleged retaliation against players for sparking the first investigation came amid a wave of athletic staff turnover across sports departments. Just two weeks after the close of the first investigation, former athletic director Bernard Muir resigned. One month later, former head football coach Troy Taylor was fired due to an investigation into his bullying of female athletic staffers. 

Another participant in the investigation who chose to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation raised questions about the independence of the investigators hired for both investigations. The initial abuse investigation was conducted by a law school friend of Stanford’s Deputy General Counsel. The ongoing investigation is being conducted a former attorney at Stanford’s Office of the General Counsel until 2024.

“It is difficult to think of an independent investigator that could be less independent than one who was a senior internal lawyer in Stanford’s Office of General Counsel until last year and worked for Stanford for five of the last 10 years,” the investigation participant said.

According to a parent letter written to the University, Flacks allegedly obtained confidential information from the first investigation’s reports, including information about which players took part in the first investigation. These players were promised confidentiality by the University.

The University and Flacks’ attorney denied this claim. In a statement to The Daily, the University wrote  that they “did not provide a copy of the report” to Flacks.

In a letter to the University used in the first investigation, parents also accused Flacks instructing the players to take the 2023 Anonymous Annual Survey, where athletes provide feedback on their athletic experience, in the presence of the coach. The letter further alleged that players were warned not to give negative feedback and were told to conduct the survey with Flacks in the room. 

A source close to Flacks who chose to remain anonymous due to the ongoing investigation called the claim “absolutely false.”

“In at least one [call with a parent], Coach Flacks represented that the Athletic Director told him his job was secure as long as the student-athletes were happy [sic]. To assure the parents that the student-athletes were happy, Coach Flacks further represented that the most recent Annual Survey of feedback from the student-athletes was the best one in 22 years,” a parent of a player wrote in a letter to the University. 

In an email to a parent reviewed by The Daily, Stanford’s assistant vice president for employee and labor relations Phung Truong wrote that she did not believe the survey would be conducted in 2024.

At least one player removed himself from the team due to the alleged hostile environment created by Flacks, according to March 30 letters to University administration and athletic directors that have been reviewed by The Daily. The University denied comment on this matter, citing the ongoing investigation.

“How many more need to be driven out, silenced, or retaliated against before Stanford takes action? These high achieving student-athletes deserve better. It’s time to acknowledge the hiring mistake — no one gets it right 100% of the time. It’s time for real accountability and leadership that reflects the values of Stanford: integrity, experience, and respect. These student-athletes deserve a coach who meets the highest standard — not one who undermines their well-being,” one of the investigation participants wrote in an email to The Daily.

Players and their families are still participating in interviews for the ongoing investigation.

This article has been updated to reflect that in addition to the student letters of support, 30 parents of players also signed a letter of support for Flacks.

This article has been updated to better reflect the content and the dates of the letters sent by parents to the University, as well as the timeline of the University’s second investigation. It has also been updated to include the timing of the Anonymous Annual Survey and to better reflect the information allegedly distributed regarding the initial investigation.



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Jones, Deal Highlight #20 Women’s Track & Field After First Day at NCAA Outdoor Championship

Story Links GENEVA, OHIO – The #20 Rowan Women’s Track & Field team finished day one of the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. UPDATED RESULTS Nyla Jones qualified for the 400 meter hurdles finals after the freshman placed ninth (1:02.36) in […]

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GENEVA, OHIO – The #20 Rowan Women’s Track & Field team finished day one of the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

UPDATED RESULTS

Nyla Jones qualified for the 400 meter hurdles finals after the freshman placed ninth (1:02.36) in the preliminaries.

Izzy Deal was 12th in the javelin with a top mark of 38.92 meters.

Other action on Thursday saw the 4×400 relay disqualified in the prelims.

On Friday, Deal will be back at it as the graduate student competes in the shot put.

 

 



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Liam Danitz Advances to Men’s 200-Meter Final at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Story Links Hope College’s Liam Danitz will sprint after a national title for the second time this track and field season. The junior from West Branch, Michigan (Ogemaw Heights HS) qualified for the 200-meter finals at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, near […]

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Hope College’s Liam Danitz will sprint after a national title for the second time this track and field season.

The junior from West Branch, Michigan (Ogemaw Heights HS) qualified for the 200-meter finals at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, near Cleveland, on Thursday.

Danitz crossed the finish line in 21.19 seconds during prelims to finish second in his heat and fourth overall.

The fastest nine of 22 entrants qualified for the championship race on Saturday, May 24, at 3:40 p.m.

Defending national champion Sam Blakowski topped the field during prelims. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse senior recorded a time of 20.93 seconds.

Saint Johns University (Minnesota) senior Kevin Arthur was the second-fastest at 21.07. Rowan University (New Jersey) freshman Rajahn Dixon was third at 21.13.

Danitz, a two-sport athlete who is also a starting defensive end on the Flying Dutchmen football team, seeks his second All-America honor on the track and field season.

In March, Danitz claimed All-America First Team accolades with a fifth-place effort at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in Rochester, New York.

 



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Varner Competes at NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Story Links GENEVA, OH (May 22, 2025) — On Thursday afternoon, King’s College junior thrower Brandy Varner competed in the discus throw at the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH. Varner posted a throw of 38.53 meters on her first attempt […]

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GENEVA, OH (May 22, 2025) — On Thursday afternoon, King’s College junior thrower Brandy Varner competed in the discus throw at the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH.

Varner posted a throw of 38.53 meters on her first attempt to finish in the top 20 in the event. Augustana’s Charlotte Frere finished as the National Champion with a mark of 48.35 meters.

Varner was the first King’s National Qualifier since Justin Le Cadre reached the championship meet during the indoor season in 2021-22 in the men’s shot put and the first women’s qualifier since Cayle Spencer made the championship meet in the javelin throw in 2019. Varner represents the program’s 12th National Qualifier appearance and seventh individual since the program began varsity competition in 2015-16.


–MONARCHS–



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Missouri Tigers Volleyball to play Stanford in Columbia on ESPN in fall

Mizzou Volleyball will face women’s volleyball powerhouse Stanford this fall in Columbia on ESPN, the team announced Thursday. The match will take place Tuesday, Sep. 9 and be broadcast to a national audience as part of the brand new ‘Showdown at the Net’ challenge between the SEC and ACC. No time has been announce yet […]

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Mizzou Volleyball will face women’s volleyball powerhouse Stanford this fall in Columbia on ESPN, the team announced Thursday.

The match will take place Tuesday, Sep. 9 and be broadcast to a national audience as part of the brand new ‘Showdown at the Net’ challenge between the SEC and ACC. No time has been announce yet for the match.

The Tigers’ match was unveiled by ESPN as part of the wider announcement of the series and will be one of the showdown’s three matches broadcast on national television.

Mizzou is coming off one of the best seasons in program history, going 22-9 and reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2017.

Dawn Sullivan and the Tigers return several notable players from that squad, including SEC Libero of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American Maya Sands and All-SEC Second Team setter Marina Crownover. The team also had one of the best transfer portal classes in the country, bringing in Tyrah Ariail from USC at middle blocker and Honorable Mention All-American Caylen Alexander at outside hitter from Hawai’i.

Reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was a remarkable turnaround for the program, which went 9-19 with a 2-16 SEC record the year prior to Sullivan’s arrival. The 2023 SEC Coach of the Year has quickly returned Mizzou to prominence, allowing for the team to garner the rare spotlight of a nationally televised match.

The Tigers are expected to be ranked in the preseason top 25 poll, and could possibly find themselves as high as the top 15. Meanwhile, Stanford will likely be ranked in the top 10 entering this season.

The Cardinal reached the Elite Eight last season before falling to national finalist Louisville. They are a member of the sport’s elite with nine national titles and 23 appearances in the Final Four, both of those most recently coming in 2019.

Stanford has reached the Elite Eight each of the past three seasons and returns multiple key players, including First Team All-American Ella Rubin at outside hitter.

This match has the potential to become the highest-ranked contest Mizzou Volleyball has played at the Hearnes Center in years and will come with great expectations given the national audience that will watch these teams battle it out.

No matter the outcome, one thing is clear: Dawn Sullivan and the Tigers have cemented themselves back on the national stage.



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