The 2025 NCAA volleyball season is knocking on the door. With massive moves like Nebraska Huskers head coach John Cook retiring and Dani Busboom Kelly succeeding him well in the rearview mirror, the teams are gearing up for the premier contest to kick off the season. In a little over a month from now, the top 10 D1 college volleyball teams will open the 2025 women’s season­­ at the AVCA First Serve.

This year, the college volleyball season’s first contest will start on August 22nd and run through the 25th in Lincoln, NE, and Sioux Falls, SD. Defending champions Penn State, 2023 runner-up Nebraska, alongside teams like Kansas, Texas A&M, Creighton, and more, will take part in the three-day special event. However, the event itself isn’t the one making the headlines, after an NCAA waiver approval just came through.

Excitement always surrounds the AVCA First Serve showcase, with volleyball-starved fans welcoming the new season. However, things only get going for the ten teams who participate in the first serve showcase, as other teams have to wait a while before they can start practicing for the season. Yet, the NCAA Division I Committee for Legislative Relief just made a game-changing decision.

“Big change for teams a month before the season starts. Previously, only teams playing in the AVCA First Serve Showcase could start on July 31, but now all teams will have a longer runway before their first matches,” said Nebraska Huskers reporter Lincoln Arneal. The official release read that the “blanket waiver” permits “member institutions to begin practice sessions in women’s volleyball 22 days before the first scheduled regular-season intercollegiate contest.”

But you may be asking what prevented other teams from getting a head start in the first place. Well, that’s thanks to NCAA Division I Proposal 2019-82. Although the NCAA introduced the proposal (effective August 2022) to simplify practice schedules to determine when the season started, it turned into a hindrance in practice.

“It resulted in a significant reduction in preseason practice opportunities,” confessed the NCAA. However, thanks to the blanket waiver, all D1 teams can now start practicing regardless of their participation, or lack thereof, in the AVCA First Serve. And this comes shortly after another big development in the college volleyball landscape.

More change is on the horizon for NCAA volleyball

Just like the blanket waiver will help college volleyball teams hit the court early for practice, something big is afoot, and Illinois just made the first big move. Shortly after Judge Claudia Wilken’s landmark verdict instructed the NCAA to start fulfilling its whopping $2.6 billion back pay obligations, the Illinois athletics department made a massive announcement.

On Thursday, June 26, Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman explained that volleyball will become one of the university’s top four sports alongside football and basketball. “The Illinois AD says volleyball will be among the top four sports to receive a portion of the school’s revenue share,” wrote the Illinois Inquirer’s Jeremy Werner.

While the school followed the standard 75/15/5/5 model, where 75% goes to football, 15% to men’s basketball, 5% to women’s basketball, and 5% to other sports, things are changing. This change comes thanks to the revenue-sharing salary cap of $20.5 million that started after the landmark verdict. Illinois and all other NCAA colleges will use this annual cap to pay NIL athletes directly.

And with the 2025 NCAA volleyball season on the horizon, Illinois Athletics is putting volleyball at the forefront. “98% of revenue share will go to football, basketball, women’s basketball, and volleyball,” wrote Werner. Now the question is: With women’s volleyball breaking viewership records, how do other colleges plan to use revenue sharing?

While that question is yet to be answered, the Committee for Legislative Relief also dropped one important detail. While the waiver does allow teams to start practicing, it’s not permanent. The waiver provides “a one-time short-term relief to allow for additional discussion and review of a future legislative solution.” So this isn’t over just yet.