By Bruce Feldman, Mitch Sherman and Max Olson
Nebraska’s Trev Alberts has been targeted by Texas A&M as its next athletic director, and he is expected to accept the position, a source with knowledge of the negotiations and the hiring process confirmed to the The Athletic.
The Houston Chronicle first reported the news on Wednesday.
Alberts, 53, a former Butkus Award-winning linebacker at Nebraska, took over as AD at his alma mater in 2021. He formerly served as the athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Omaha for 12 years.
Texas A&M lost its AD of the past five years, Ross Bjork, to Ohio State in February. Bjork hired Mike Elko as football coach for the Aggies in November.
At Nebraska, Alberts received a contract extension in November through 2031 and a bump in pay to $1.7 million annually. He was set to receive another raise to $2.6 million in 2026.
Alberts was credited with generating momentum for the football program at Nebraska with his hire of coach Matt Rhule, who completed his first season at the school in November. As AD, Alberts also negotiated a 15-year, $300 million multimedia rights agreement with PlayFly Sports and orchestrated the Volleyball Day in Nebraska event in August 2023 that brought a crowd of 92,003 to Memorial Stadium, a world record for a women’s sporting event.
Last month, Alberts was named in a lawsuit filed by former Nebraska women’s basketball player Ashley Scoggin. In the lawsuit, Scoggin accused coach Amy Williams and Alberts of failing to protect her from former assistant women’s basketball coach Chuck Love. Love, according to the lawsuit, coerced Scoggin into a sexual relationship.
What does this mean for Nebraska?
It’s a disaster if Alberts is leaving.
Alberts quickly became the primary source of stability within Nebraska athletics after his hire in July 2021. His pursuit of Matt Rhule in 2022 and hire of the football coach brought calm to a tumultuous period after the failure and firing of native son Scott Frost.
Rhule cited Alberts and Ted Carter, then the University of Nebraska system president, as vital in the decision to come to Nebraska. Carter left in January to take over at Ohio State. Incidentally, he hired Bjork as athletic director, which created this opening in College Station.
Moreover, Alberts backed men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg after he won just 24 games in his first three seasons. The AD’s support helped allow Hoiberg to build the Huskers into a winner this year. At 22-9, they’re set to appear in the NCAA Tournament next week for the first time in 10 years.
Alberts also launched an effort to renovate Memorial Stadium. Nebraska announced a $450 million project that would replace the south end of the 100-year-old stadium after the 2024 season.
All of it, without Alberts in charge, is at risk. — Mitch Sherman, Nebraska sports writer
What does this mean for Texas A&M?
For the Aggies, this would be a home-run hire. It’s extremely impressive that Texas A&M’s leadership, led by first-year president Gen. Mark Welsh III, managed to pull Alberts away from his alma mater, and pulling this off must’ve been expensive.
In less than three years at Nebraska, Alberts has emerged as one of the more influential ADs in the industry. In College Station, he won’t have to lead dramatic stadium renovation projects like the one he was facing at Nebraska. He can focus on helping the Aggies chase championships and usher the athletic department through these turbulent, transformative times in college athletics. An AD with a strong football background should be especially beneficial for new coach Elko and his efforts to build up a College Football Playoff contender. — Max Olson, senior college football writer
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(Photo: Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)
