Nebraska officially introduced Trev Alberts as its 14th athletic director Wednesday morning. A press conference followed shortly after, which included a number of Husker coaches in attendance. Some of the familiar faces were men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg, women’s basketball coach Amy Williams, baseball coach Will Bolt and many others. A number of those coaches spoke about the hire post-press conference.
Football head coach Scott Frost was out of town and unable to attend the event on Wednesday, but tight end Austin Allen was in attendance representing both Nebraska football and the search advisory committee that he was part of.
Here is a quick review of what a few coaches (and Allen) had to say about the hire.
Hoiberg on his first impression of the hire:
“I’m really excited. Trev’s a guy that’s worn pretty much every hat, obviously being an unbelievable player and winning Big 8 championships back in the day, going on and playing in the NFL which is an important part — being coached by different people. Playing for one of the great all-time leaders in Coach Osborne and then having an opportunity to play at the highest level, I think that’s an important part of leadership when you’ve seen it from different people. Obviously coming from UNO, being the head guy there for 12 years, having that experience as well. I know how important this place is to Trev, being an All-American here, being a guy that was here in the program’s heyday, and I know he’s going to do everything in his power to get all the programs competing for championships, and that’s what it’s all about. But I’m really looking forward to working with him.”
Hoiberg on Alberts hanging with other Big Ten athletic directors:
“I think the biggest thing is that he knows what this place is all about, he loves this place and he wants to see it back at a championship level all across the board. We’ve got a lot of sports right now that are competing for championships and some of the others are on the rise. That’s the most important thing, putting your student-athletes or coaches in a position to give them the support to be at that championship level and I am absolutely confident that Trev can be that guy.”
Bolt on the departure of Moos and hire of Alberts:
“Obviously Bill brought me here and gave me the opportunity. I couldn’t be more thankful for him and his wife Kendra and the leadership that he provided at a place that I love so very thankful for him and just the process of having Trev come in. I do appreciate Chancellor Green really hearing us out as coaches on some things we think are really important. You heard him talk about the advisory committee and those type of things. Trev checks all of those boxes. I don’t know him personally. I had the opportunity to meet him for the first time today. (He discussed) all the right things like winning, leaders and what winning cultures are all about. You heard him touch on that a bit. Just no excuse, just show up, work hard, be the hardest working team and athletic department. Those types of things. I think he’s very direct and transparent in his communication and we’re very excited about his future here.”
Bolt on what the coaches thought about the hire:
“That was a consensus among the coaches and the head coaches, just speaking as a group, that we feel we have a lot of positive momentum in the department and having some continuity and having someone here who understands the uniqueness of Nebraska and has been here as a student-athletes before and embodies all of those things that the state of Nebraska is all about . . . He touched on those things and I think it’s important that he has an intimate knowledge of this place. Not just that, he’s done amazing things everywhere he’s been. Whether that’s a professional career in football or in broadcasting, he’s done a lot of amazing things. But having intimate knowledge of Nebraska was a very important part of the hire.”
Allen on what impressed him about Alberts:
“He’s very well-spoken. You can tell he was a little emotional at the start of that, but I would be too if I had the athletic director position at the University of Nebraska; this is a special place to be. But what stuck out to me is how well-spoken he is, in the position he is, stepping up — UNO’s a big job, but there’s not much bigger than UNL. This is a great job and he’s a well-spoken guy; that’s what stuck out to me.”
Update (2:07 p.m. CT): Frost provided a statement on the hiring of Alberts via email:
“This is an exciting day for Nebraska Athletics and the University of Nebraska. I commend Chancellor Green and President Carter on an excellent choice for our Athletic Director. Trev Alberts has a great track record of success in whatever he has done, dating back to his playing days through his time leading the UNO athletic department. Trev and I share a love of Nebraska, this football program, and this athletic department. I look forward to working with Trev to continue to build our program.”
Update (7/14): John Cook wasn’t able to be at the press conference on Wednesday, but later offered his thoughts on Sports Nightly.
“First of all, I think it’s great news and I had a couple of interactions with Trev when they opened the Baxter Arena (in Omaha). We went and played a volleyball tournament there and to help get that thing going. I think they have the record crowd from when we played there. We spent a lot of time talking and planning that and I told him that the deal was if we did that, he would have to give me a rink-side seats for hockey and I went to the hockey game and we sat and talked the whole time. I got to throw the fish on the ice, which was really cool, but whatever year that was, I thought in the back of my mind . . . A light bulb went off that Trev needs to be our A.D. I was really impressed. I think he fits everything we were looking for. One of the things I’m going to tell him is that he’s walking into a great opportunity because I think Nebraska Athletics, with the right leadership, is ready to take off like a rocket ship.”
