Husker Athletic Director Trev Alberts to Receive New Contract

UNL Athletic Director Trev Alberts, speaking before members of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday., August 17, 2021. (File photo Charlie Brogan, KFOR News)

LINCOLN–(KFOR/News Release Nov. 14)–Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts will receive a new contract that will keep him as the leader of the UNL athletic department through at least 2031.

In a news release on Tuesday, University of Nebraska president Ted Carter pointed to a number of major achievements in Husker Athletics since Alberts took the helm in 2021, including the historic Volleyball Day in Nebraska that broke the world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event, the hiring of head football coach Matt Rhule, and a new 15-year, $300 million multimedia rights agreement with Playfly Sports that is one of the most comprehensive in the country.

Alberts is also leading the Huskers through the rapidly evolving Name, Image and Likeness landscape, is bringing the transformational Go Big project to completion, and has laid out an ambitious vision for renovation of the 100-year-old Memorial Stadium. Ten Husker teams had top-20 national finishes last year, and this year, the undefeated women’s volleyball team is currently ranked No. 1 in the country while women’s soccer will host the second and third rounds of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship. Nebraska student-athletes also have earned a record 95 percent graduation rate for the second straight year.

“Today’s college athletics landscape is complex and ever-changing,” Carter said. “We need exactly the right person leading Husker Athletics forward. In Trev Alberts, we have found that leader.

Alberts said in a statement, “My family and I are humbled by the confidence that President Carter and the Board of Regents have placed in me. It is an incredible honor and privilege to serve as the Director of Athletics at Nebraska and it is a role I don’t take for granted. Our student-athletes, coaches and staff have accomplished so much in the past two years. We have great momentum in Husker Athletics and we are excited for what is ahead. Go Big Red!”

Alberts’ new contract has been structured based on a thorough review of compensation packages for other Big Ten athletic directors, with a goal of keeping Nebraska highly competitive in the market and retaining Alberts for the long term. The new contract includes:

An annual base salary of $1.7 million, increasing to $2.1 million in 2026.

Retention incentives, including an existing contractual $500,000 retention bonus if Alberts stays through September 2025, with an annual $300,000 retention bonus for every year he stays thereafter.

A $3 million completion bonus if he completes the entire eight-year agreement.

Liquidation damage buyouts that will be paid to the university if Alberts were to leave for another opportunity.

Alberts’ new contract, like his existing one, will be funded entirely with Athletic Department funds. No taxpayer or tuition dollars will be used. Nebraska’s is one of few athletic departments in the country to operate without a university subsidy.