The Brand Power of the Burnt Orange

There are a few schools around the country that many know to be the powerhouse programs in college volleyball: Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Wisconsin, and Texas just to name a few. These programs have a long history of success, are familiar with winning national championships, and have cemented themselves as contenders year-in and year-out. But what volleyball fans don't think about as often is the brand identity outside of this sport and in college athletics as a whole, and Texas is just about as big as it gets.

The Longhorns were recently selected for their 4th Director's Cup in the past 5 years, awarded to the #1 overall athletics department in college sports. UT goes to NCAA tournaments and makes deep runs in many sports, both men's and women's. Texas Athletics is also ranked #2 in total brand value behind Ohio State, according to studies by CNBC and the Wall Street Journal. There were 30 Longhorn athletes competing in 2024 Paris Olympics, winning 6 gold medals and 16 total medals. Not to mention Texas is one of the most elite academic institutions among public schools across the country. This prestige across all aspects is not something you can find at any other volleyball powerhouse, and I talked with coaches Reily Buechler Canter and Ben Josephson about the effect that has on recruiting.

The truth is that Texas sells itself. The coaching staff doesn't have to spend a lot of energy trying to convince athletes because the prestige, the historic performance, and the nutrition and athletic facilities speak for themselves. Josephson put it in an interesting way, saying the brand for Texas opens doors. For many other schools, it takes a longer relationship with clubs to open that door for recruiting. But "UT is a place their kids are interested in, so right away, they're open to introduce themselves."

Buechler Canter pointed out that at the end of the day, athletes want to go somewhere they can win a national championship. That's what she notices as the #1 driving factor, that players follow "the best volleyball and the best coaching staff." And when you look at how often Texas appears in the Final Four, the national championships, the number of players that have become All-Americans and national team players, Texas measures up. This theory holds true if you look at the past few years of recruiting. It's no coincidence that the Longhorns landed the #1 class in the nation in the classes of 2025 and 2026, the two years after their back-to-back national titles. And look at Penn State putting together one of the best classes in the country this year as well.

Josephson classifies programs into three distinct groups based on this idea. The first is your perennial contenders, your bluebloods, your powerhouses that will always be a factor in recruiting even if they see a slight dip one year or another. The second tier is programs that don't have the same historic dominance, but have been very good in recent years. A perfect example of this is Pitt. More of a newcomer, but for as long as recruits have been paying attention to college volleyball, Pitt has been in the Final Four, so many of them consider Pitt to be an elite program. The third tier are teams that can put together a great season, but the question becomes whether they can sustain that success, Josephson points to Creighton as an example. The goal for a program is how you upgrade your tier, and the answer is consistency.

The final piece of the puzzle here is NIL. In a world where "it feels like there's a lot of wishy washiness and back-handed and Wild West and a whole bunch of that type of stuff going on," according to Josephson, we at least know that Texas is competitive in that market too. We don't know exactly who offers the highest dollar, but Josephson says that "Jerritt makes it competitive enough that the other stuff matters" - relationships, quality, athlete experience, etc. It certainly doesn't hurt to see Madi Skinner all across national television for brands like HEB and Fairfield Hotels throughout last season. But as Buechler Canter mentions, the ability to capitalize on NIL goes both ways... "You have to be able to sell yourself as well a little bit."

Texas stands apart not just as a volleyball powerhouse, but as a symbol of excellence across college athletics, academics, and national brand recognition. Its sustained success reflects a culture where championship standards are the norm and gives it a leg up in the recruiting process.