OMAHA, Neb.—Former Nebraska football star Trev Alberts is giving up the broadcast booth to become athletic director at a “hockey school” about 50 miles away from his alma mater.
University of Nebraska at Omaha Chancellor John Christensen announced Alberts’ hiring at a news conference on Wednesday.
Alberts said he’s looking forward to pulling the deficit-ridden athletic program out of a yearslong malaise and moving his family to Omaha, about 250 miles away from his hometown of Cedar Falls, Iowa.
“I seriously want to do something meaningful,” said Alberts, 38.
The former linebacker said he believes that improving the student-athlete experience and helping coaches succeed will be more meaningful than his broadcasting job at CBS College Sports. Alberts previous was with ESPN and CNN. He starts his new job Friday, replacing David Miller.
Alberts was chosen over three other finalists, none of whom visited campus for interviews. Christensen said he was impressed with Alberts’ family values, his integrity, his competitive nature and his people skills.
“From an athletics perspective, this is the foundation for tomorrow,” Christensen said.
Alberts had a brief, injury-plagued NFL career after starring at linebacker for the Cornhuskers in Lincoln and winning the 1993 Butkus Award as college football’s top linebacker.
He takes over an athletic program that has had three ADs the past five years and had a deficit of $832,000 at the start of the 2008-09 academic year.
UNO relies on its Division I men’s ice hockey program to generate revenue for the athletic department’s 14 other sports, all of which compete in Division II. The hockey team, which moved from the Civic Auditorium to the Qwest Center in 2003, was just $25,000 in the black in 2007-08. Figures for this past season weren’t available.
Alberts said he understands how important hockey is to the university even if he’s still learning about some of the nuances of the sport.
“We’re a hockey school,” he said. “Is there anything wrong with that? I don’t think so.”
But in UNO’s 10 years in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, the Mavericks have never finished higher than fourth in the 12-team league, and they’ve come in seventh each of the last two years.
“We’ve got to go back in and reassess every aspect of our hockey program,” he said.
Alberts said head coach Mike Kemp would return for the final year of his contract next season.
UNO always has been challenged to find relevance in a sports market that includes the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Cornhuskers and a Creighton basketball team that ranks among the national leaders in attendance. But Alberts said he’s confident UNO can find a niche if the Mavericks develop a sound plan for garnering support.
“I’m not selling Trev Alberts. What I’m really selling is UNO Maverick athletics,” he said.
The three other finalists for the UNO athletic director job were Omaha high school athletic director Nolan Beyer, Dana College AD and football coach Bill Danenhauer and Mike Marcil, commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference and former commissioner of the North Central Conference.
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