Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos sat down with Greg Sharpe for an hour in his monthly athletic director’s radio show on Tuesday. He covered a lot of ground with the Huskers, as this is a busy time in the department.
Moos commended the entire university system for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the semester wraps up in Lincoln, attention is beginning to turn toward the basketball season.
“We can really focus on getting basketball ready,” Moos said. “And we should have a schedule by later this evening. Certainly, by tomorrow and we can go forward. I know it’s been very frustrating for many. And we are having a different format this year with a 20 game men’s basketball schedule that will be complemented with seven non-conference games. All of this should be revealed later today or tomorrow.”
This past week was a big one across Nebraska Athletics for recruiting. Volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball all did very well with their signing periods. Moos recognized all of the hard work that went into that for each sport.
“Volleyball with the best recruiting class in history, women’s basketball top 25 class, baseball top 30 and men’s basketball got a five-star recruit,” Moos said. “I believe that’s the first one in history and he is something special to complement that recruiting class.
“It’s not easy, because we’re not able to bring these prospects on the campus. Our coaches aren’t be able to go to home visits. It’s all being done with Zoom and virtually across the board. We’re just doing an outstanding job and this is such a special campus and a great community that sells itself.”
We found out in recent weeks that the Huskers’ Go Big facility renovation was put on pause. It was just another thing impacted by the pandemic. Moos discusssed if there were any updates about groundbreaking on the new facility.
“We still are hoping to have our design work done here shortly,” Moos said. “By shortly, I mean by the end of this month and be ready to put a shovel in the ground, hopefully, late spring and early summer. So basically, that would delay the project by exactly 12 months. And with the revised schedule we should be able to occupy the building in July, probably June or July of 2023.”
Flexibility in scheduling for football has been a huge topic of discussion around the country. It hits home at Nebraska differently. The Huskers were not allowed to play a game in place of the lost game against Wisconsin. Moos said that rule will not be revisited for other teams. He did have some insight into the crossover games coming up next month to finish Big Ten play.
“We are exploring dome stadiums that the NFL teams play in and that should be shored up here shortly, maybe even as soon as this week,” Moos said. “There’s still the off chance that we could be playing them on campus venues. We’re fast approaching that week. Things are going very fast so we hope to have some answers on that in the not too distant future.”
More News and Notes:
>> Moos was asked if there were any plans for Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren to attend Husker football games this fall. While he is running out of opportunities to do so this season, Moos said that Warren is always welcome. He hopes that Warren can make a game but he isn’t expecting it this year unless he hears something very soon.
>> The financial impacts of the pandemic have been felt everywhere. Businesses are looking to get creative to make up the lost revenue. Moos was asked if alcohol sales are being considered next season at Memorial Stadium.
“No, there’s no plans on alcohol,” Moos said. “We’re really not considering that right now. And I’m not saying that years down the road, it might not happen. But in the immediate future there’s no discussion right now.”
>> Moos meets with Coach Scott Frost every week for about 30 minutes to discuss a variety of topics. Nebraska’s athletic director shares Frost’s enthusiasm for the program’s future. Moos noted that Frost feels they are about a year away.
“You’re seeing the talent that especially in some of the skill positions, especially on defense where that look like the Blackshirts on Saturday,” Moos said. “Just rallying to the ball and breaking up passes, pressuring the quarterback and stopping the run.”
