Volleyball the big bread winner of sports…
Let's analyze this, shall we?
The volleyball team plays 29 regular season games, with up to 5 playoff games in the post season. (I think? Not too sure about how that all works...). Of the 29 regular season games, 17 of them are home games.
So. Take the premise that a dome should be built over Memorial Stadium and the field should be converted to a volleyball court on a more permanent basis. Second, assume that ticket prices will be roughly comparable to football tickets. Third, assume good attendance (~80% capacity, if not full sellouts).
Compare 7 sellout home games for football to 17 80% or greater attendance at home games for volleyball. Ticket revenue, in that situation, would be substantially greater for volleyball.
Granted, that wouldn't take into account the revenue from the conference TV deal, since only 20 of the 29 volleyball games are expected to be televised this year, whereas every football game certainly will be. This might not be a significant factor if the football games are played at some other venue, if only to keep us in the conference and keep that TV deal money coming in, since the media rights money is paid to the conference, then distributed to the schools from there. As long as we remain in the B1G, we should still continue to receive the TV deal money, even if the football program was put on the back burner.
Of course, this assumes that the volleyball program can generate as much diehard fanaticism as the football program does. The recent volleyball sellout at Memorial Stadium could be attributed to it being a special event. If fans could expect a home volleyball game at Memorial Stadium 17 times per season, would all 17 games be sellouts? Could the athletic department rely on 80% or greater attendance on a regular basis? Is the demand for tickets high enough to meet the significant increase in supply that converting Memorial Stadium to a volleyball court on a more permanent basis would create? I don't know.
If the demand can soak up a good portion of that supply, then volleyball would generate more revenue, as far as ticket sales were concerned, than the football program would simply because they play more home games each year. If regular attendance averages less than 50%, though, then the overall revenue would likely be less.
And, as I alluded to earlier, this assumes Nebraska stays in the B1G conference and the TV deal revenue does not change. Scrapping or significantly downsizing the football program could possibly jeopardize that membership. Remember, only 20 of Nebraska Volleyball's 29 regular season games are expected to be televised this year. The demand for televised volleyball games is certainly much lower than the demand for televised football games, and projected viewership and the subsequent add revenue plays a major part in determining the value of that TV deal.
IF volleyball can generate regular ticket sales in Memorial Stadium, and IF the volleyball games can draw TV viewership, then volleyball could potentially generate more revenue than the football program. However, one sellout of Memorial Stadium for a special event does NOT prove that attendance will be that high if all 17 home volleyball games were played in Memorial Stadium, and the fact that only 20 of 29 regular season games are expected to be televised this year means that the viewership numbers are likely too small to justify the current media rights revenue.
In short, volleyball COULD be a major revenue generating sport, but only if a number of factors come together just right. But since the general popularity of volleyball is far lower than the popularity of football, those factors are highly unlikely to positively reward such a major change. Even a below average football program (like what we have now) is more likely to generate more revenue than a premier volleyball program (like what we have now).
But hey, the way things are going, maybe that will change...