Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen said on a recent radio appearance that he sent a letter to the Big Ten commissioner formally requesting that Nebraska not host Friday games in the future. This does not include the traditional Black Friday game against Iowa.
Nebraska has played a non-Iowa Friday night game in each of the past three seasons. The last two years saw Nebraska take on Illinois, and in 2022, Nebraska was on the road against Rutgers. Friday night games have become a common theme on the program’s schedule, and Dannen would like to see it end.
“Just because of the size of the stadium and the locale, I don’t think we want to be canceling in-person classes. I’m sure the students didn’t mind. But at the end of the day the more we can avoid that I think the better off everybody will be.”
He went on to say that he is also not happy about certain Big Ten programs being able to opt out of the Friday games.
“I don’t like seeing other athletic directors in the league saying, ‘By golly, we will not do that’ and laying their foot down. I’m not sure any institution should have the unilateral ability to do that. But if we do, I raised my hand with the commissioner and said Nebraska should be in that same position with 90,000 fans and the proximity we have to campus.”
Dannen has made positive changes to the athletic department ever since his arrival in March. From additional focus on NIL to contract extensions, he has made his mark. The elimination of Friday night games could be viewed by many as a positive development. It will be interesting to see what happens.
In the meantime, Nebraska will take on Purdue this Saturday. Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m. CT and the game can be seen on Peacock.
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