Nebraska athletic director Trev Albert announced on his monthly appearance on Huskers Radio Network that there would be no ball tradition at Memorial Stadium in the fall of 2022.
With the increasing difficulty of obtaining helium, the university administration asked the athletic department to save the helium they obtain for the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).
Alberts said the university has also had many conversations about the environmental impact of the ball tradition.
He said the athletic department and the marketing and fan experience department are working hard to keep the tradition alive in a new way.
“We will work with Brandon Meier and our marketing department to try to come up with something, whether it’s digitally or something to designate it and keep it alive,” Alberts said. “We are working very hard for something for the future.
In other news, Alberts said he doesn’t see the Big Ten eliminating divisions this upcoming football season. In light of the PAC-12 scraping their divisions, many conferences are considering doing the same.
The athletic director said many of the other Big Ten ADs he spoke with were in favor of scrapping divisions and allowing the top two teams to play for the conference championship.
Alberts said leagues like the Big Ten are in the midst of media rights negotiations that will impact conference divisions and game counts. He said the negotiations also have an impact on future schedules.
Recently, the NCAA eliminated all 25 scholarship players per class for football. Now, teams will only have to operate under the 85 scholarship players on the roster rule.
Alberts said he was neither “here nor there” on the matter, but said it made sense to him in the transfer portal era college football has entered.
Speaking of the transfer portal, Nebraska football picked up three defensive lineman transfers. Alberts said he and the coaching staff were happy with the young men they added.
“Now the challenge is when you have so many different players from everywhere trying to bring them together, to merge a team and a culture because that’s still very important,” he said. “You can have great talent, but you have to find a way to take that talent and put it into a system, learn the system and create some unity in that dressing room. I know our coaches are thrilled to have the opportunity to do that.”
The biggest and most recent news for Husker Athletics is the softball team that won the Big Ten Championship.
“They just reminded me of a team for whom losing was not an option,” Alberts said. “In the really critical moments when they really needed a win, they managed to do it. Really proud of them and I think (Rhonda Reville) has a very strong team that will be back next year. They have taken a huge step forward with the softball program. »
Alberts said he had never seen so many home runs in his life. Nebraska hit 76 home runs in the 2022 season that ended in NCAA Tournament regions.
While the softball team soared at Bowlin Stadium, the baseball team struggled in the nearby stadium.
In order to make it to the Big Ten baseball tournament in Omaha, the Huskers must defeat Michigan State on Saturday, which they did 10-9. They also needed Purdue to lose to Maryland to clinch the No. 8 seed.
Purdue and Maryland did not play Saturday due to weather, sending Purdue to the Big Ten tournament.
While many fans were upset the teams did not play, Alberts said Denis LeBlancAD Nebraska’s Executive Associate for Academics, made a few phone calls and concluded that both schools “reasonably did what they could to get the game in.”
Alberts said baseball head coach will bolt said there was “no one to blame but ourselves”.
“We had several chances this year to win a few games, to fit into the tournament,” he said. “The real lesson here is to make sure that in future we don’t put ourselves in a position of having to hope for a game to be played where there is a chance and a threat of weather.”
Another issue that was addressed was the parking situation at the Bob Devaney Sports Center for Husker volleyball games.
Alberts said the long-term solution is parking, but these are “expensive” and “difficult”. He said there are things to do to make short term parking easier.
“Immediately, I don’t think you’re going to see a sea change in a positive outlook in volleyball parking,” Alberts said. “I don’t feel good about it, to be honest with you, because that fanbase has been as loyal as anyone.”
***Alberts said there is a three-game football package where a buyer could choose North Dakota or Georgia South in September, Indiana or Illinois in October, and choose Minnesota or Wisconsin in November.
The package will go on sale on Wednesday, May 25.
*** Alberts said there is a 92% renewal rate for football season tickets.
He thanked fans for their dedication in light of the past few years. He said they had around 3,700 to 5,100 tickets for sale for a game depending on that game.