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NIL Update from Nebraska Athletics

On Thursday, January 12, Nebraska Vice Chancellor, Director of Athletics Trev Alberts sent the following message to fans regarding Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) updates related to Nebraska Athletics:

Happy New Year Huskers!

The New Year has brought many new faces to Husker Athletics, most notably in our football program. This week we welcomed several new football coaches and staff members to the Husker family as Coach Rhule continues to build his program. He and his staff have brought a new energy to our building, and we are excited for what is ahead and the start of spring practice.

I want to congratulate Coach Rhule and his staff for putting together an excellent recruiting class in a short amount of time. Our newest Huskers join our program amidst a new era of college football. Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the Transfer Portal have changed the recruiting and roster retention process and we must embrace these changes to compete in this new environment.

Nebraska has been on the forefront of NIL since its introduction in July 2021. Shortly thereafter, third-party entities known as collectives were formed to expand and organize NIL offerings for our student-athletes since institutions were prohibited from involvement in NIL activities. Athlete Branding and Marketing (ABM) was formed in 2021 and established a strong foundation for NIL opportunities at Nebraska. In December 2022, ABM fulfilled their NIL obligations and shut down operation. Recently, three new collectives were created to provide NIL opportunities for student-athletes.

•    The 1890 Initiative – Led by Matt Davison
•    Big Red Collaborative – Led by Kris Brown
•    Athlete Impact Management – Led by Ralph Castner

Recent changes to the NCAA policy allow institutions to promote collectives. This allows the Athletic Department more opportunities to educate donors on the programs and benefits of these third-party collectives. This was a welcome change, as each week I receive questions from fans confused about the role of collectives and searching for clarity on how to support our athletes through NIL.

Nebraska Athletics fully supports The 1890 Initiative, Big Red Collaborative and Athlete Impact Management. Since July 1, 2021, Husker student-athletes have participated in over 2,500 NIL activities. These new NIL opportunities give our student athletes a chance to connect with our great fans through appearances, camps or a social media shoutout. Nebraska has emerged as a national leader in NIL activity because of our great fan support and these opportunities are helping our coaches recruit the best talent to Nebraska.

Another way you can support Husker student-athletes is through donations to the Huskers Athletic Fund and specifically the N-Vest Nebraska program. Our fan support has always differentiated our programs. I would like to encourage our fans to support these organizations who in turn support our student-athletes with opportunities. NIL rules and policy interpretations will continue to evolve, and our staff has made it a priority to continue to be a national leader in this space and we are committed to continuing to educate our generous fans and donors on this topic.

GO BIG RED!

Trev Alberts
Vice Chancellor, Director of Athletics