After the latest Big Ten expansion, Nebraska A.D. Trev Alberts doesn't expect an overhaul of future football structure, schedules
A month and a half ago, the Big Ten Conference unveiled its new football schedules for 2024 and ’25. Those went back to the drawing board following the additions of Oregon and Washington to the league beginning next year.
On the Huskers Radio Network on Wednesday night, Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts admitted that the landscape of the Big Ten’s and beyond had shifted dramatically.
However, based on his regular communication with new conference commissioner Tony Petitti and other league athletic directors, Alberts isn’t expecting a total overhaul of the upcoming Big Ten football slates.
“Talking to the Big Ten and all the A.D. calls, it looks like, while obviously there’s going to be some changes when you add two more teams, I really don’t think (the schedules) are going to be dramatically and significantly different than what’s already been communicated,” Alberts said.
“Obviously, there are going to be some changes. But I think many of the key, fundamental things that drove our philosophy and decision-making that got us to those schedules are going to carry moving forward.”
Alberts added that he didn’t expect the Big Ten to revert to a divisional model despite now being a coast-to-coast league.
“I don’t believe that divisions are going to come back,” Alberts said.
His reasoning is based on the Big Ten’s original media rights deal signed in 2013. That included each member school listing their respective scheduling “tolerances” regarding travel, night games, and non-Saturday games.
“All of those tolerances live to this day and can’t be changed,” Alberts said. “So, that drives a lot of it.”
Alberts said the Big Ten was already working toward creating new future football schedules.
Nebraska football expects another sellout season in 2023
Technically, tickets remain for Nebraska’s upcoming 2023 football home games. But Alberts doesn’t expect those to last much longer.
Student season tickets officially sold out this week, leading Alberts to predict that NU would sell out all seven home games this season.
“We’ll be sold out this year in football,” Alberts said. “I think we’re under 1,000 tickets (left), and that’s only one game. And the rest of them are relatively already sold out.
“There’s going to be tickets available – I don’t mean that. But we won’t have a problem being sold out for all home games again this year, first year of Matt Rhule’s era.”
RELATED: Three takes on Nebraska President Ted Carter’s decision to leave for Ohio State
Alberts reflects on university president Ted Carter’s departure
When the University of Nebraska-Lincoln began classes on Monday, Alberts, new chancellor Rodney D. Bennett, and university systems president Ted Carter all met with Husker student-athletes to ring in the fall semester.
On Tuesday, Carter announced he would be leaving Nebraska to become the president at Ohio State University.
Like many, the news surprised and “disappointed” Alberts. He said Carter was a significant reason why he got the athletic director job at NU.
In the end, Alberts understood that Carter made what he felt was the best decision for him and his family.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” Alberts said. “When you have a good leader and someone you work really well with, it’s challenging. But we understand how the world works, right? Leaders are given opportunities, they’re put in front of people all the time, and sometimes decisions have to be made in the best interest of the families…
“Ted did a lot of good things for the University of Nebraska. So, we’ll miss him. We’ll wish him well, and we look forward to competing as hard as we can against him as an Ohio State Buckeye.”
Memorial Stadium renovation is Nebraska’s ‘next big project’
Nebraska finally debuted its new football locker room to players this week. While plenty of work remains in the massive $165 million “Go Big Project,” Alberts said he was already looking ahead to what’s next.
“The next big project is the stadium itself,” he said.
On Oct. 5, Alberts will hold a public meeting with the Nebraska Board of Regents, hoping to unveil plans for “modernization” of Memorial Stadium.
He also expects to announce new revenue opportunities for the venue, similar to next week’s “Volleyball Day in Nebraska.”
“The reality is this is an incredible asset to the state of Nebraska, and it can’t be used just seven times on a Saturday a year,” Alberts said. “We’ve got to activate this thing more; get students involved, community involvement and engagement; and I think we can do that with a renewed vision around how we activate Memorial Stadium differently.”
Quick hits
***Speaking of Volleyball Day in Nebraska, Alberts said Petitti and NCAA President Charlie Baker would be in attendance.
Alberts didn’t hold back his excitement for what the event would mean for the Huskers, the state, and the sport of volleyball.
“The benefit to the University of Nebraska and exposure will be hard to define,” he said. “I think this is a showcase that Nebraska has long invested in women’s athletics, and this is a celebration of its success…
“And, quite frankly, we are doing more and investing more than we do in a home football game.”
***Alberts said he’d already developed a good relationship with Petitti, praising his “constant and consistent communication” with his member schools.
“When Tony tells me something is going to happen, I can count on it,” Alberts said. “His word is good.”
