2023 ACG Nebraska | June Breakfast Meeting with Trev Alberts, University of Nebraska

A veteran administrator and College Football Hall of Famer, Trev Alberts is entering his second year as  Vice Chancellor, Director of Athletics at the University of Nebraska in 2022-23. Alberts, who was hired on July 14, 2021, returned to his alma mater after spending 12 years at Nebraska-Omaha, guiding the program through a successful transition to the Division I level.

In his first season at Nebraska in 2021-22, Alberts  helped the Huskers navigate the ever-changing landscape of Name, Image and Likeness guidelines for the benefit of Nebraska student-athletes. He led the development of the N-Vest Nebraska program to award $5,980 per year to student-athletes who meet academic benchmarks.

Alberts also spearheaded the charge to complete the fundraising for Nebraska’s Go Big Project, which will provide Nebraska football with a new facility scheduled to open in the summer of 2023. The project will also house academic, life skills, nutrition and support services for all Nebraska student-athletes.

A tireless worker who puts both the interests of student-athletes and fans first, Alberts helped orchestrate a qualitative survey of Nebraska’s fan base to help shape the future of Memorial Stadium’s game-day atmosphere.

Alberts has also focused much of his time on developing the first strategic plan for Nebraska Athletics in 15 years. He has also committed himself to providing intense support and a unifying vision for Nebraska’s coaches across all sports.

Nebraska’s athletic achievements in 2021-22 included top-five NCAA finishes from Husker volleyball, wrestling and men’s gymnastics programs, while the NU women’s basketball and softball teams enjoyed breakout seasons that concluded with trips to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The women’s track and field team added a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships - its best showing since 2006.

Academically, Nebraska student-athletes continued to shine with a school-record 95 percent graduation rate across all sports.

Alberts has continued to make a mark on Nebraska Athletics in his second year. Alberts conducted a thorough, nationwide search for a new leader for the Husker football program in the fall of 2022 that resulted in the hiring of Matt Rhule as Nebraska’s new head coach. Rhule has a proven track record as a program builder at the college level, winning conference championships at both Temple and Baylor. Since his hiring, Rhule has energized the Nebraska fan base and attracted a top-25 recruiting class to the Husker program.
 
Alberts also spearheaded a new 15-year multimedia right agreement between Nebraska Athletics and Playfly Sports, an emerging leader in sports marketing, media and technology. The partnership is one of the nation’s most comprehensive multimedia rights agreements and has a total value for $301 million for Nebraska over the life of the contract.
 
Alberts’ impact on college athletics stretches beyond the Nebraska campus. A respected leader at the Big Ten and national level, Alberts serves on both the NCAA’s Division I Football Oversight Committee and the NCAA Division I Competition Committee.

Alberts’ tenure leading UNO athletics was marked by successes in competition and in academics; by transitioning the university’s athletic programs to NCAA Division I in 2011; and by establishing new homes for many UNO athletics teams, including Baxter Arena, the Maverick Park baseball/softball complex and the soccer pitch at Caniglia Field.

Alberts took the bold step in announcing that Omaha would reclassify from Division II to Division I in all sports in 2011 and simultaneously securing conference affiliation with the Summit League for all of the department’s then-Division II programs. His vision for UNO’s reclassifying teams was demonstrated even before the four-year transition period had ended. The Omaha baseball team won back-to-back Summit League regular-season championships in 2013 and 2014, while the men’s basketball team made its first Division I postseason appearance in 2014 with a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. 

During UNO’s time in the Division I ranks under Alberts tenure, the Mavericks had six teams and four student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Tournament, including hockey advancing to the Frozen Four in 2015 and men’s soccer reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the spring of 2021. He also expanded opportunities, adding men’s golf and men’s soccer in 2011, and Omaha began a men’s swimming and diving program in 2021-22.

Throughout his tenure in Omaha, Alberts was focused on enhancing the student-athlete experience, including the construction and staffing of the Hamilton Academic Excellence Room and the development of the Ethel S. Abbott Student-Athlete Development Wing. Those efforts paid off in Nebraska-Omaha student-athletes posting consistent collective semester grade point averages above 3.3 for 18 consecutive semesters, including at least a 3.5 in each of his final three semesters.

The facilities around Omaha Athletics received a major uplift during his tenure. Maverick Park opened in March of 2021 to rave reviews as the home to the Mavericks’ baseball and softball programs. Funding for the complex, which includes a 1,500-seat baseball facility and a 650-seat softball facility, were raised privately and provided both programs a permanent on-campus home for the first time.

Another crowning achievement was the opening of Baxter Arena in 2015.  Alberts directed efforts to secure community support and funding to build the on-campus arena, which allowed the nationally prominent hockey program to play on campus and also serve as the home of the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball programs. Caniglia Field underwent renovations in 2012, making it one of the finest collegiate soccer facilities in the country, highlighted by a FIFA 2-star rated playing surface and one of the largest LED videoboards in a soccer-only college facility.

Alberts’ work on behalf of hockey, UNO’s established Division I sport, also paid dividends. He successfully guided the Mavericks into the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2013-14. The following year, Omaha reached the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four.

In addition, Alberts and his team led Omaha Athletics into a partnership with Learfield, a national leader in the marketing of collegiate athletics, and developed Omaha Sports Properties. As the exclusive corporate sponsorship sales unit for UNO Athletics, Omaha Sports Properties further enhanced revenue and increased brand prominence locally, regionally and nationally.

As part of UNO’s reclassification to Division I, Alberts oversaw the rebranding of UNO athletics with new primary and secondary logos and a greater focus on strengthening the Maverick brand both regionally and nationally.

As a student-athlete, Alberts was an All-American on and off the football field as a Husker Blackshirt. He was Nebraska’s first Butkus Award winner in 1993, helping Coach Tom Osborne’s Huskers to an undefeated regular season and an Orange Bowl appearance against Florida State. A first-team All-American by every major publication in 1993, he was also the Football News National Defensive Player of the Year, the Big Eight Male Athlete of the Year, and the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year. His No. 34 jersey was retired at the 1994 Red-White Spring Game. In 2015, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Off the field, Alberts earned the NCAA’s highest honor, The Today’s Top Six Award. A three-time Academic All-Big Eight honoree, he was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1993.  He graduated from Nebraska before his senior season.

Alberts was the fifth pick in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts and played for the Colts until 1996. Following his NFL career, he served as an analyst on college and professional football games for major national networks, including ESPN, CNN/SI and CBS Sports Network.

Alberts and his wife Angela have three children – Chase (and his wife, Cassie), Ashtynne and Breanna.