Team Tampa Bay's Take by Joey Johnston: Tampa Bay's Warmest Welcome

By Joey Johnston

They arrived to rousing airport receptions, featuring a steel-drum band, dozens of breathless club volleyball players and a krewe of pirates, who adorned them with Gasparilla beads. They received the obligatory Tampa starter kit of bottled water, oranges and sunglasses. Their team buses, decorated in tropical motif with their school’s logo, whisked them away to luxury hotels, where another round of official welcomes were at hand.

Now it’s time for business. The Nebraska Cornhuskers, Wisconsin Badgers, Pittsburgh Panthers and Texas Longhorns have arrived at the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, which begins Thursday night at downtown Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

But from the moment their charter planes touched down on Tuesday, the coaches and players had the same awestruck tenor when asked for early reviews:

At every turn, they felt the appreciation and hospitality from the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, the University of South Florida and the City of Tampa.

“As soon as we landed and they were pulling the plane around, we saw a big group of people,’’ Nebraska junior libero Lexi Rodriguez said. “And we’re all like, ‘Oh my gosh, is that for us?’ ‘’

Welcome to Tampa.

And say hello to the feel of a very big-time event.

“It has been spectacular,’’ Nebraska coach John Cook said. “Tampa is a cool town. The reception has been nonstop. It has definitely been noticed.’’

“If you’re a fan of volleyball or sports (in general), is there a better place to be than Tampa this week?’’ Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “It’s more than just volleyball matches. It’s like a celebration.’’

Following Wednesday’s public practices and interview sessions, the student-athletes mingled in a special lounge, where they could make Christmas decorations, visit with a “tropical Santa Claus,’’ have high-end snacks, get a custom-made bucket hat (with the tournament logo, along with their name and number), plus be treated to massages, manicures and pedicures.

“The student-athlete experience is a very big part of NCAA championship events,’’ TBSC executive director Rob Higgins said. “We want to take it to another level, make some awesome memories and give them experiences they’ll never forget.’’

Wednesday night, the players and coaches embarked on a 90-minute Starship Cruise around Tampa Bay, where they had private team dining, a view of the city skyline and the chance to mix and mingle before the competition begins in earnest.

“I think Tampa should be hosting this event every single year,’’ Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said.

Elliott should know. His Longhorns competed in the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Championship at Tampa, falling in a five-set championship match against Penn State (16-14 in the fifth) as the dynastic Nittany Lions. Penn State captured its 102nd consecutive match victory and its third straight national championship.

Much has changed for college volleyball — and Tampa — since one of the sport’s watershed moments.

But for Elliott, the return to Tampa brought back some familiar feelings.

“Our sport and this event means a lot to Tampa and that’s something all of our players, coaches, administrators and fans can feel,’’ Elliott said. “You can tell everyone is excited to have us here. We’ve already experienced a lot of special moments from the second our plane landed. They just do a great job.’’

Since the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Championship, the TBSC has helped to host 18 major events, including the NCAA Frozen Four, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four, the NCAA Men’s Basketball early rounds, the College Football Playoff Championship Game, the U.S. Gymnastics Championships and Super Bowl 55.

“What (already) stood out to me was you can tell Tampa has put on events,’’ Cook said. “They know what they’re doing here. It’s very organized. The communication, the people … (they’re saying) ‘Hey, we’re in charge. We’re taking care of this.’

“I’ve been to other places where maybe they haven’t put on a Final Four before. You can tell the people here are used to having great events and they’re pretty fired up about it. That stood out to me right away.’’

Tampa is ready for its next major-event close-up.

And so are the competing teams.

“It seems like this year, the size of the arena is bigger,’’ Pittsburgh coach Dan Fisher said. “It feels like there’s more media and more photo shoots. There’s always something they’re shuffling us around to.

“It’s all great stuff. But we came here to play volleyball.’’

That will happen Thursday night.

With ESPN televising the action, beginning at 7 p.m., it’s Nebraska (32-1) against Pittsburgh (29-4) in the first national semifinal, followed by Wisconsin (30-3) against Texas (26-4).

The two winners play for the national championship — televised for the first time by ABC-TV — on Sunday at 3 p.m.

“This is a heavyweight foursome here,’’ Sheffield said. “These are elite teams, elite programs. The young people don’t play young. They don’t play scared — and they’re not going to be scared on this stage. It’s a lot of people who are going to be flexing out there. This is going to be a really fun tournament.’’