UNO Football

[iamjacobm]

This is in the rumor section for a reason guys. I don't believe it, but here it goes.

Heard from someone claiming to "know someone that knows someone" that said UNO is considering reinstating football.

Let the lambasting begin.

[guitarguy]

I figured when they took down the stadium they were serious about never bringing it back.. Where would they play?

[iamjacobm]

I figured when they took down the stadium they were serious about never bringing it back.. Where would they play?

They said TD Ameritrade. Again this is like a rumor of a rumor.

[Coyote]

I'll believe it when something changes. Ole Trev wanted to be an inner city university like others in their conference, who did not compete in Div I football. Now if there are rumors of UNO moving to a different conference... I'll change my mind.

[GetUrban]

I predict they'll build a new too small football stadium down by the new Hockey Arena!

[Linkin5]

I predict they'll build a new too small football stadium down by the new Hockey Arena!  :lol:

Hopefully they will build a new arena attached to the new football stadium. You can't ever have enough arenas.

[guitarguy]

Or we could be seeing the forefront of excessive stadiums!! Lord knows Little League Baseball would be so much better with seating for 8k!

[RNcyanide]

I though part of the reason why UNO lost their football team was that they were losing too much money on their games due to low ticket sales. Was that not the case?

[Stargazer]

They lost the football program because Lincoln would be losing too many walk on's... maybe even a few fans over time.

[RNcyanide]

They lost the football program because Lincoln would be losing too many walk on's... maybe even a few fans over time.

I see. In the short time I attended there, I heard from a few people that ticket sales were a big factor in the decision.

[nebugeater]

They lost the football program because Lincoln would be losing too many walk on's... maybe even a few fans over time.

That is a stretch.

[guitarguy]

The elimination of the Football program happened at nearly the exact same time that they joined Div 1. I assume this means that they were able to find success at Div 2 but would have had to start investing a ton of money to bring the program to the competitive level in Div 1.

[Professor Woland]

I spoke to a guy who is a moderate level UNO athletic booster. He told me the football program was eliminated because of poor ticket sales and the costs associated with supporting a program, even at the D2 level. In order for the athletic department to maintain any kind of financial sustainability it had to drop football. The decision was probably a lot easier given the move to D1 in the other sports. Other people might have heard something else, but if this is true then I strongly doubt that UNO is considering bringing football back.

[bigredmed]

I spoke to a guy who is a moderate level UNO athletic booster.  He told me the football program was eliminated because of poor ticket sales and the costs associated with supporting a program, even at the D2 level.  In order for the athletic department to maintain any kind of financial sustainability it had to drop football.  The decision was probably a lot easier given the move to D1 in the other sports.  Other people might have heard something else, but if this is true then I strongly doubt that UNO is considering bringing football back.

That is what I heard as well. When you consider that D1 football programs are money hemorrhages for almost all the D1 universities including some of the traditional football powerhouses, UNO was not alone in it's need to jettison the program. It also made Title 9 compliance much easier as they simply had to balance scholarship numbers between hockey and women's volleyball and swimming (easily done) and then all the other sports they have naturally match up (mens v women's soccer, for example).

[Stargazer]

Okay sure, I'd like to think I'm joking when I suggest the reasons I do for the football program being cut... but then why was wrestling cut as well?? (one of the nation's best D2 programs) Cost?? are you kidding me? There was more behind cutting these programs than just cost alone.

[Coyote]

From what I remember Trev Alberts wanted to situate UNO in a conference of like midwest urban campus universities, and model their sports programs after these institutions. The summit league as it exists today has theses programs: Baseball, Basketball, Cross country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming and diving, Tennis, Track and field (indoor), Track and field (outdoor), Volleyball.

So fitting into the Summit League they dropped Football and Wrestling, and started the Soccer program. Of course it's Hockey program drives the department...

[Stargazer]

I guess that would make some sense... if half the Summit's schools (or more?) didn't in fact have football/wrestling programs in 'the Valley'.

Note, UNO is the second highest enrollment university in the Summit 'league' as well.

It's hard to imagine, a state, less than half as populous as Iowa... can only sustain a single D1 football program, to Iowa's four (Yeah, I know... some would argue... Iowa has NO football programs). Even the Dakota's can each muster a pair of programs. MONTANA! has two D1 programs.

[hughes]

true, but on the other hand none of those programs dominate the state the way the huskers do nebraska

[Ebburkrevus]

I guess that would make some sense... if half the Summit's schools (or more?) didn't in fact have football/wrestling programs in 'the Valley'.

Note, UNO is the second highest enrollment university in the Summit 'league' as well.

It's hard to imagine, a state, less than half as populous as Iowa... can only sustain a single D1 football program, to Iowa's four  (Yeah, I know... some would argue... Iowa has NO football programs).  Even the Dakota's can each muster a pair of programs.  MONTANA! has two D1 programs.

Nebraska has a population of 1.856 million people compared to Iowa at 3.074 million. It is much closer to two thirds than less than half.

[guitarguy]

Does everything existing within the same University system have anything to do with it? Non competition clauses maybe..

[Professor Woland]

Okay sure, I'd like to think I'm joking when I suggest the reasons I do for the football program being cut... but then why was wrestling cut as well?? (one of the nation's best D2 programs)   Cost?? are you kidding me?   There was more behind cutting these programs than just cost alone.

The way it was told to me, Alberts was looking for a way to move the wrestling program to division 1, but the wrestling coach told him to go eff himself, probably thinking there was no way Alberts would fire him or scrap the program. Once again, this is a second hand report, so all of it might be true, some of it might be true or none of it might be true, but it is what I heard.

[Stargazer]

Does anyone really think Alberts PERSONALLY made ANY decisions regarding the futures of these programs? He was, and still is... just a mouthpiece.

(and sorry about screwing up on population compared to Iowa... I started with '40% less populous', and some how ended up with less than 50%. Even more ridiculous, that we only have one D1 football program)

[HskrFanMike]

The argument about Lincoln killing UNO football is an old wives tale with little to no substance. It's a convenient excuse by people who have no other justification to back up their argument.

UNO football was hemmoraging money, and the problem is probably related to Lincoln...but not the reason you think. Prior to 1996, Nebraska games were in the afternoon and UNO played at night. TV contracts changed in 1996 with the formation of the Big XII and new cable networks, and nearly every Nebraska game was on TV, and at all hours of the day...frequently at night.

With so many football games on TV and more conflicts with Nebraska games, attendance dropped at UNO games. That led to money losses.

UNO couldn't afford to move football up to 1-AA, and couldn't afford to remain in division 2. So it had to go.

Wrestling might have stayed, if it weren't for the fact that the Summit League doesn't sponsor wrestling. And to make sure they competed in something other than basketball and baseball on the mens' side, they added soccer. But then gender equity made it tough to keep wrestling.

So what do you do? Not add soccer and have a very limited slate of Summit League mens' sports? Not good. Drop hockey, the biggest revenue sport and the flagship of the athletic department? Not good either. Drop wrestling, the most successful sport at the school? Not good either, but it had less of a downside than the other two options.

[Greg S]

Totally agree with Mike here.

Sandy Buda wrote a letter to the OWH a few weeks ago lamenting that UNO could have been like South Dakota going to Oregon to play football for a big payday. The thing is, more than likely, those games are going away. With the advent of the playoff, the Power 5 conferences are not or at least drastically reduce playing FCS teams.

If UNO had moved to FCS, they would have needed to add football scholarships to compete, and they were already losing money. For everyone that was upset about UNO football going away, nobody was actually going to the games.

I do think it was sad UNO dropped wrestling considering the success. Trev could have handled the whole deal much better. He even admitted that later on.

If you are saying Trev is only a figure head, who then is running the UNO athletic department?

Greg

[Coyote]

Ok, today's real UNO Football team...:

Mavs Top No. 9/10 Washington in South Omaha Classic

[Coyote]

Just look at these happy faces:....

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