Alberts knows Nebraska must adapt to keep sellout streak alive

INDIANAPOLIS – The last time Trev Alberts was on a football field in Indianapolis was when he was a linebacker for the Colts, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was his quarterback, and he was playing on the Astroturf of the old RCA Dome.

A lot had changed when Nebraska’s new athletic director made his first appearance at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

While the former Husker All-American has had plenty on his plate during his first four days on the job, one of the pertinent issues out of the gates has been maintaining the football program’s storied sellout streak.

When asked for an update on the season ticket sales for the 2021 season, Alberts declined to give a specific number but said NU fans were “doing their part” in claiming the still-available tickets.

That said, Alberts knows that continuing the NCAA-record 375-game sellout streak this year and beyond is a layered task with no simple solutions.

“I think it’s really important because it’s reflective of our fans,” Alberts said of the sellout streak. “But I will tell you, too, I’m not really interested in perception. I’m interested in reality. Part of good organizations is having the courage to examine the blatant truths of your current reality.

“The reality is that part of growth is we need to be honest with ourselves, warts and all. There’s some really great things about our program. There’s some things that need some work. So let’s define them, understand them, and if at the end of the day the reality doesn’t match the perception, I’m not a guy that needs to keep perception going.

“The reality is that our fan base has spoken very strongly, and our fans are the envy of a lot of these institutions. I hear that a lot, and I’m really proud of that.”

Before Thursday’s Media Day sessions, Alberts sent a letter to Nebraska’s season ticket holders announcing that, by popular demand, Nebraska would issue printed paper tickets this season rather than strictly electronic as previously planned.

He also acknowledged complaints from fans about the need to upgrade amenities in the south section of Memorial Stadium. Alberts wrote that Nebraska would make improvements such as additional portable restrooms, added concession options, and more televisions in the concourse area before the 2021 season.

For Alberts, making the game day experience as enjoyable as possible is as important as anything in keeping NU’s sellout streak alive.

“We heard very loudly from a portion of our fan base that they wanted to have a paper ticket option,” Alberts said. “Obviously, we do need to move into mobile ticketing and those things, but maybe this isn’t the year. We’re coming off a pandemic; there’s a lot of unknowns.

“So we’re going to make sure that everything that we do takes into consideration how do we engage our fans and where they are in terms of what their expectations are? We want to always be able to do that, but we don’t have much at the University of Nebraska without our fan base. So we’re going to embrace them and try to have policies that are in their best interests.”