Through These Gates: August 2025

Dear Husker Nation:

Your Nebraska Cornhuskers enter the 2025-26 school year with great momentum and expectations, both competitively and academically. Our mission is simple, “Set a Standard that Others Aspire to Achieve.” Every decision we make and every action each of our 320 staff members take, is in alignment with our mission. It forces us to evaluate based on tomorrow’s destination and challenges our long-held norms, beliefs and experiences. And it requires that we understand our local traditions and the evolution that is happening around us.

That evolution has transformed college athletics overnight. The era of sharing revenue with student-athletes is upon us, and Nebraska, like our Big Ten peers, is sharing $20.5 million with Husker student-athletes this year. That is in addition to the increasing role that Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) plays at the highest levels of sport.

The annual report accompanying this letter reflects on our outstanding accomplishments on and off the field of play in 2024-25. The foundation for the future is built upon those accomplishments.

At Nebraska, we have many things to be proud of, and one of those pride points is the strong financial model built over the decades that allows us to enter this new world with such high expectations.   Nebraska is unique as one of a small handful of athletic departments that does not receive any funds from the institution or the state, does not assess a student fee, pays the full cost of our scholarships back to the University and, for the third consecutive year, will provide a $5 million subsidy to the academic enterprise on the UNL campus.  

Our strong financial position is the result of many things, including fan support at our games and philanthropy from our donors. We rank #2 among all FBS schools in attendance for women’s sporting events (Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer and Softball) and #7 nationally when Football, Men’s Basketball and Baseball are included. The Huskers Athletic Fund raised over $71 million in gifts last year for the first time ever, a testament to the passion and loyalty of our supporters.  

As we begin the year, I want to share with you some updates on all things Nebraska:

• We continue to plan for and develop the Memorial Stadium renovation, which includes the South, North, West and East sides in the current scope of work. We previously shared that we do not intend to bring the project forward for formal consideration by the Board of Regents at this time with the current financial challenges on campus and systemwide. Ultimately, we will bring to the Board of Regents a project that will not only ensure 102-year-old Memorial Stadium serves the next generations of Nebraskans but also will help preserve the Husker financial model that empowers aspirational competitive goals while enhancing—not draining—institutional resources.

 

• The Osborne Legacy Complex is now fully complete and several other facility projects will be finished in the upcoming year including the outdoor track complex and operations building including seating for 2,500; the expansion of the Devaney Center’s capacity to 10,200 including chairback floor seating; a new range for the Rifle team; new indoor hitting and putting facilities for Men’s and Women’s Golf; and new locker rooms for Men’s and Women’s Golf and Rifle.

 

• Several changes lie ahead to our game days this year, including alcohol sales at all on-campus venues. We are also enhancing our security protocols by restricting entry for all non-credentialed individuals after a pre-game day security sweep until the spectator gates open and no longer permitting exit and re-entry into on-campus venues.

 

• We look forward to welcoming Aramark as our food and beverage concessionaire, bringing a vast array of services and menus both to our concession stands and our suites that “Set the Standard.”

 

• We lost a great friend this offseason with the passing of the voice of the Huskers, Greg Sharpe. Kyle Crooks is ready to carry on the legacy while building his own brand and bringing his own library of great calls that we will remember for years to come.

 

• This year, we welcome two new head coaches as Dani Busboom-Kelly takes the reins in Volleyball and Breanne Hall leads the Women’s Golf program, both taking the helm following their predecessor’s retirement.

 

• The arena in the Devaney Center will formally be named after John Cook in a September ceremony that will also include the unveiling of a bronze statue of Coach Cook on the north plaza of the Devaney Center.

 

• This upcoming year, Nebraska will host five Big Ten championships, including both Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics in Pinnacle Bank Arena, Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field on campus and Baseball in Omaha.

 

We have an exciting year ahead of us. But with so many changes in the world of college athletics that impact Husker Athletics, it is easy to forget what is not changing: our commitment to success on the playing field; our commitment to academic success in the classroom; our commitment to graduating student-athletes and ensuring their personal growth; and, as the flagship program in our state, our commitment to representing our fans, our friends and our entire state with character and pride.  

The names on our athletic offices may change occasionally and the names on the back of our student-athletes’ jerseys may change even more frequently. But the name on the front of jersey will never change.   We are Nebraska, and on behalf of our 525 student-athletes and 320 staff members, we remain so very proud to represent the Scarlet and the Cream.

 

Troy Dannen

Director of Athletics