AD Trev Alberts: Nebraska has built their brand playing against great opponents in primetime
Over the last day, there have been plenty of discussions about some possible issues in the new Big Ten media rights deal. Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts discussed that and more on his final 2022-23 monthly radio show.
On Sunday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported some issues brewing behind the scenes with the new media rights deal. Thamel reported that former commissioner Kevin Warren promised NBC the 2026 Big Ten title game and full autonomy to schedule November night games. The league has agreed to a primetime package with NBC, but traditionally they stop playing night games after the first weekend in November.
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Warren could potentially cost Big Ten schools a combined $70 million, or $5 million apiece. Alberts declined to get into any of the details in the ESPN report.
“I would just say amid all the details and the granular things that frankly still need to be worked through, and I don’t mean to minimize those,” Alberts said. “But think about this at the core of what makes it challenging is we are talking about three elite linear television networks. You are talking about this was always the vision all along to do our best and try to own Saturday in college football with the Big Ten.
“The Big Noon kickoff on Fox has been a great addition. The 2:30 p.m. Central window on CBS. You look at CBS, while that was probably an undervalued deal for the SEC, that television partnership with CBS was massively important in building the SEC brand and recognition. Then you go to primetime on NBC. If you watch the NFL window in primetime on NBC, it’s delivered like a mini Super Bowl every Sunday night.”
Alberts: Nebraska is all-in on primetime games
While some Big Ten schools might be against playing November primetime games on NBC, Alberts said Nebraska shares a different view.
“I can only tell you from a University standpoint, as this is a part of our history and DNA. We’ve built our brand on being willing to play primetime games against great opponents,” Alberts said. “So if you are asking if Nebraska will be willing to play primetime games, I’ve got my hand up every day, twice on Saturday.
“We think the University of Nebraska in primetime is a great opportunity to showcase everything that’s great about the state of Nebraska, the University of Nebraska, and more importantly, the football program.”
The Black Friday Penn State at Michigan State game is already expected to be one of those NBC primetime November match-ups. Iowa plays at Nebraska that same day.
Quick hits
***Alberts thinks they can get approval for 91,000 seats for the Nebraska volleyball match in Memorial Stadium on Aug. 30. The largest crowd ever to see a women’s sporting event in the United States is 90,185 in the 1999 World Cup Finals played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The World record is 91,553 at Camp Nou in Barcelona during their UEFA Women’s Champions League match against Real Madrid.
“I think we can make a legit run at the all-time women’s sports world record,” Alberts said.
***Alberts hopes they can add 400 more seats to the Devaney Center for women’s volleyball matches this season.
***Alberts used the word “uncomfortable” several times on Monday to describe the current state of affairs in college athletics, from NIL to conference expansion.
“I just think it’s embracing being uncomfortable,” Alberts said.
***Alberts expects the early kickoff times to be announced any day.
“I think it will be relatively soon,” Alberts said. “We need to get these times out and push these times out because it’s really important for our fans.”
***About 400 club seats remain for sale on the new east balcony that was converted this off-season. Those could go on sale to the general public after a few more rounds of donor season ticket windows.
***The plan remains to have the Go Big Project ready for the football team before the start of fall camp. The rest of the project will not be completed until later in the year.
***As for NU’s track stadium seating, Alberts said it remains on hold. The Board of Regents has yet to approve the plan to add seating to the track with the rising construction costs. They could do something cheaper, but Alberts said they want to hold off on the project and ensure it’s first class.
***Alberts remains open about having grass someday in Memorial Stadium. Still, at the same time, it would be nearly impossible to allow events like graduation and concerts in the stadium if they ever went to grass.
