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Nebraska AD Trev Alberts Shockingly Departs to put Big Red Rhule on the Matt

College football’s daily drama continued with Wednesday’s stunning departure of Nebraska AD Trev Alberts

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By Rock Westfall

College football’s daily drama continued with Wednesday’s stunning departure of Nebraska AD Trev Alberts. Nebraska’s lack of leadership forced Alberts to accept an offer from Texas A&M. Now Big Red Nation frets over the future of head football coach Matt Rhule. 

All-American Favorite Son Abandons Home for Aggieland 

In a shocking and unexpected move, Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts announced he was leaving his alma mater, where he was an All-American football legend, for Texas A&M. Alberts served as Nebraska AD since July 14, 2021, and was instrumental in its rebuild into a multi-sport power. Most importantly, Alberts hired Matt Rhule as head football coach. By all accounts, Rhule is quickly fixing the historic former national powerhouse into a top Big Ten contender.

Why Would Alberts Leave His Dream Job for Just a Job? 

Trev Alberts dreamed of being Nebraska’s athletic director. He groomed himself for the role by serving as Nebraska-Omaha AD for ten years and building a successful program there. By the time the Nebraska AD job opened up, Alberts had the experience and credibility to match his legendary name.

Despite one of the most successful years in athletic department history, Alberts is leaving because Nebraska has not had a president in seven months. Last year, Ted Carter, the president who hired Alberts, departed for that same role at Ohio State.

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Without a president to sign off on projects Alberts had initiated, he was being suffocated by a dithering Board of Regents. Among the big ticket items that Alberts had on the docket was the renovation of South Stadium (the south end zone of Memorial Stadium) and bringing NIL in-house. South Stadium work was supposed to start two months ago, but nothing has been done. And Alberts saw in-house NIL as essential to his long-term vision.

Alberts had a more aggressive plan than what leaderless Nebraska currently has in mind. Thus, without an effective president, Alberts felt he lacked the ammunition and support of other programs in today’s chaotic version of college football.

Alberts Jumps Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire 

Trev Alberts has left home, and the people who love him or make that did love him. At Nebraska, he was fully supported by the faithful and would be given a large margin for error that Texas A&M has never given anyone on its payroll.

Consider that Alberts is the fifth athletic director at Texas A&M since Bill Byrne retired in 2012. Ironically, it was Byrne who left Nebraska for Texas A&M in 2002.

Thus, Alberts will need to hit the ground running. One problem he does not immediately have is finding a football coach. Mike Elko is in his first year in that role.

Beyond his frustration with Nebraska’s lack of get-up-and-go is that Alberts has been mentioned as a potential future president of college football whenever college football decides what it wants to be and how to govern itself. Turning around a major SEC football program would further pad his resume.

Texas A&M desperately wants to win at football but continues to fail. If Alberts can lead the program to a championship, he will go down in history. The school prints money and Alberts will have a massive budget to oversee.

Texas A&M has long been known as a school with unlimited potential that has never been realized. While Nebraska has a good Top 25 ranked NIL program, the Aggies’ are near the Top 10 of NIL while having the recruiting reputation of being among the leaders in that sector. Its facilities are as good as anywhere in college football.  

What Now, Matt Rhule?

Matt Rhule said one of the key reasons he came to Nebraska was that he was enthralled with Ted Carter and Trev Alberts. The president, AD, and HC were in total sync. Now Rhule has lost both men just as his program looks ready to take off.

Rhule will certainly stay this season, especially coming off a 5-7 first year. Rhule got Dylan Raiola to flip from Georgia to Nebraska and the five-star is the highest-ranked commit in program history. Raiola was the crown jewel of a strong recruiting class and indicative of the program’s momentum. What worries fans is that if Rhule leads the Big Red to the breakout season that is expected, he will be easier to poach. 

Shock Therapy to a Supposed Sleeping Giant  

It is unconscionable to make conditions so unfavorable that favorite son and 5-star athletic director Trev Alberts would leave. Now humiliated, Nebraska must get off the dime and get a president and AD who would quickly develop relationships with Rhule to save the future, if not the football program itself.

In college football’s current climate, there are no sure things. Hence, sellout crowds since 1962 may not be enough to ensure Nebraska’s future in whatever college football becomes if they don’t start winning. Hopefully, this is the jolt Nebraska needed to get moving.

Thus, while it is bad news, Alberts’ departure is not a disaster. Yet. 

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