UNL Athletic Director Trev Alberts speaks at Big Give Gage kickoff

BEATRICE, Neb - The Big Give Gage kickoff dinner held a special guest on Thursday night at the Vintage Venue in Beatrice.

University of Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts took time to speak at the event. Alberts was invited by Beatrice native, and UNL Regent, Rob Schafer.

“He invited me to come down, talked to me about the foundation and what’s happened here in Beatrice with community needs and philanthropy coming together,” Alberts said. “I thought I’d come down and see the great things happening in Beatrice, maybe talk some Husker athletics, so it’s great to be here.”

Over 70 area organizations take part in Big Give Gage and the foundation has raised over $1,000,000 in the last 4-5 years. Alberts says figures like these make Nebraska such a special place.

“It’s just a really important thing,” Alberts said. “It’s what makes Nebraska special. We come together for big things, our communities are important to us, and we support them.”

In December, Nebraska hired Matt Rhule as their next head football coach. Alberts says the work he’s seen from Rhule, his staff, and the team has been impressive -- both on and off the field.

“Matt’s come in and he understands the importance of community as well.. He’s giving of his time, he’s speaking at another event tonight as well… The team is working hard, no guarantees on wins,” Alberts said. “But we’re building the culture and foundation that ultimately will lead to wins. He’s surrounding himself with really good people, and I’m really pleased with the effort, vision, and passion coach has showed in his time here at Nebraska.”

While Husker football kicks off on Aug. 31 in Minnesota, just the day before, Husker volleyball gets ready for Volleyball Day in Nebraska as matches between UNK and Wayne State and the Huskers versus Omaha will take place, outdoors, at Memorial Stadium.

“Volleyball day in Nebraska is going to be special,” Alberts said. “We’ll have over 90,000 people coming to Memorial Stadium… Continuing to pray for good weather!”

Alberts also discussed the Big Ten expansion, as just last week the conference announced the additions of current Pac-12 schools Oregon and Washington, joining in 2024. This will push the total number of schools to 18, with USC and UCLA also leaving the Pac 12 for the Big Ten. Alberts says Nebraska’s geographic location, at the heart of the country, could be an advantage, but the difficulty comes from more competition athletically.

“Those are tremendous brands,” Alberts said. “It only makes it more difficult in terms of winning, but that’s okay, we signed up to be part of an elite conference both academically and athletically and I think these four schools bring an additional element of excellence that will be good for Nebraska.”