page_title: Nebraska Cornhuskers
section_title: Fans
hierarchical_section_title: Nebraska Cornhuskers / Fans
context_page_description: The Nebraska Cornhuskers are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 22 varsity teams in 15 sports. Nineteen of these teams participate in the Big Ten, while rifle is a member of the single-sport Great America Rifle Conference and beach volleyball and bowling compete as independents.
  Early nicknames for the university's athletic teams included the Antelopes, the Old Gold Knights, the Bugeaters, and the Mankilling Mastodons. Cornhuskers first appeared in a school newspaper headline, after a 20–18 upset victory over Iowa in 1893. In this instance, Cornhuskers was used to refer to Iowa. The first time the name was applied to Nebraska was in 1899, when Nebraska State Journal writer Cy Sherman, who would later help originate the AP Poll, began referring to Nebraska's football team as the Cornhuskers. The next year, the nickname was officially adopted by the school.
context_section_description: Decades of high attendance and well-traveling crowds across all sports have earned Nebraska fans a reputation for being fiercely loyal and dedicated. The school's athletic department proclaimed their fans "the greatest fans in college football" in an inscription above each of the 24 gates at Memorial Stadium. In 2001, President George W. Bush stated that he "can't go without saying how impressed I am by the Nebraska fan base. Whether it be for women's volleyball or football, there's nothing like the Big Red."
  Memorial Stadium is sometimes referred to as The Sea of Red due to the home crowd's propensity to wear a certain color. Nebraska has sold out every home football game since November 3, 1962, 368 in a row, the longest sellout streak in college athletics. Cornhuskers fans are noted for often applauding the visiting team as they leave the field at the end of the game. Nebraska fans are regarded as some of the best-traveling fans in the country. The most notorious example of this took place when Nebraska traveled to play Notre Dame in 2000. An estimated 35,000 people were wearing red at Notre Dame Stadium as No. 1 Nebraska beat No. 25 Notre Dame in overtime.
  Nebraska's volleyball program has sold out 274 consecutive matches between the Nebraska Coliseum and Devaney Center, the longest streak of its kind in women's college sports. The Cornhuskers have led the country in attendance for five straight seasons, and have played in eight of the ten highest-attended volleyball matches ever played. Nebraska's victory over Florida in the 2017 national championship match set a new record with 18,516 fans in attendance.
caption: A Nebraska fan attends a football game at Memorial Stadium in 1973
exif: {}