Welcome back to the Just Askin’ mailbag.
The premise is straightforward. You ask me some questions — or vent your frustrations — about Nebraska Athletics. Any sport. I attempt to answer them.
If you want your question included in the next edition of the mailbag, find me on X at @amie_just, on Blue Sky at @amiejust.com or email me at ajust@journalstar.com.
Without further ado, here are this week’s questions, lightly edited for clarity.
How can Nebraska stay competitive in NIL with national powerhouses with fewer sources (students, alumni) to receive funds from? — Mike M.
This is the golden question that I don’t really have an answer to.
Revenue sharing should help alleviate some of this, as should additional NIL regulation — such as attempting to close the pay-for-play loopholes. But, at the end of the day, cash is king. Programs with larger booster bases, such as Arkansas with the Tyson family of chicken fame and Texas Tech with oil magnate Cody Campbell, are going to have more to spend.
When Nebraska coach Matt Rhule was asked last week about whether he wished he had added another running back in the transfer portal, Rhule launched into this very topic.
“I think there’s a lot of things to that, right?” he began. “There’s money. Some people paid more money than I had. So that’s the reality of it. I love our backs, though. You can probably hear a little tone in me because there’s about three people who could say that question to me because they’ve given me money.
“People say, ‘Coach, I’m worried about the D-line.’ Do you know how much a D-lineman costs nowadays? ‘1890’s right there. Write a check. And then you can talk to me about what you think we should do. And I say that respectfully toward our players. We’re gonna have to spend a lot of money to keep this roster together. We have a good roster. We have a good team.”
Rhule spoke about this for more than three minutes.
He continued, “It takes a lot of money. There’s $40 million rosters in college football right now. Forty. Four zero.”
When you have more money, you can do more things. In football, if you have a richer pool of boosters, you can afford to compensate more people at a higher level.
Now, for those saying, “Well, just go get Warren Buffett.” Do you really think Nebraska hasn’t tried to tap into its most famous and most wealthy alumnus? Come on, now.
Everyone, including you reading this and I writing this, is allowed to spend their money however they want. If the 95-year-old Buffett doesn’t want to donate to Nebraska’s NIL efforts, he doesn’t have to. The inverse is true for the Peed family. If the Peeds wish to pour money into the 1890 Initiative, that’s their choice.
All that to say, I don’t really have much of an answer for you.
It seems like fans courtside at volleyball matches show little to no emotion. Is that intentional? — Mike R.
This is an interesting observation. It’s one I’ve noticed over the years, too, in watching highlights back. Obviously, if they’re sitting behind Nebraska when the Huskers are serving, they’ll be quiet — like for golf. But I don’t know if the courtside folks are told to be respectful when they’re behind the opponent’s service line or if that’s just how Nebraska Nice fans are in general.
For those of you who sit there, email me. I’m curious.
I’m also curious to know what the future holds for this when the student sections are combined on one side rather than the four corners after this season.
Is the Stripe Out really going to work? — Jimmy S.
I hope so.
For those who haven’t heard, Nebraska Athletics is going to have a Stripe Out for Nebraska volleyball’s game against Washington on Oct. 10.
The sections in red: A1, B1, C1, A3, C3, A3, A4, A5, B4, B5, C5, C7, C9, A7, A8, B8, B9, A10, A11, B11, C11, A12, B13, C13, C15, A14, B16, C17 and the suites. If you’re a student and you’re unsure, don’t worry. All the student sections are red.
The sections in white: A2, B2, C2, B3, C4, C6, A6, B7, B6, C8, A9, B10, B11D, C12, B14, C14, A13, B15, C16, C18.
I love a coordinated effort. There’s a reason (many reasons, actually) why the Penn State White Out game is so cool. It looks amazing. When teams do stripe outs, when everyone is on board, it looks amazing.
Part of that is getting the word out about it so people don’t show up surprised. So, here I am, doing my part in publicizing that it’s happening.
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Amie Just
Husker sports reporter/columnist
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