The Nebraska basketball program, going from the only school that had never won an NCAA Tournament game to a member of the Sweet 16, is already one heck of a story. That the Huskers reportedly have one of the smallest NIL budgets of any team that's made it this far makes their journey all the more impressive.
In the last few days, several publications have released NIL numbers they received from various organizations and filings. While these numbers aren't all in agreement, what they do all say is that the Huskers are near the bottom of NIL budgets among the teams left in the NCAA Tournament starting Thursday evening.
According to On3's Pete Nakos, Nebraska is actually dead last in what they spent in NIL this past year among the Sweet 16 teams. That's especially impressive when you consider that Iowa and Iowa State are not exactly known as big spenders.
Nebraska basketball’s Sweet 16 run stands out with one of the smallest NIL budgets left
The smallest NIL budget of the remaining NCAA Tournament teams still managed to keep Rienk Mast and Berke Büyüktuncel, and Connor Essegian, among others. They also brought in guys like Pryce Sandfort and Jamarques Lawrence.
The Athletic doesn't have the Huskers at the bottom of the list. Their numbers, taken from the Department of Education, have NU third to last, just ahead of the aforementioned Iowa State and Iowa. The Cornhuskers are also listed just below Houston, which seems a bit surprising considering how much money they're expected to spend on a basketball program that routinely competes for national titles.
It's clear that money doesn't buy championships or NCAA Tournament wins, considering Nebraska, Iowa, and Iowa State are all still alive as of tonight, despite so many other teams with larger reported budgets. Assuming these numbers are correct, it certainly sheds even more light on the job Fred Hoiberg and his staff have done putting together and then coaching this current iteration of Nebrasketball.