The Nebraska football fan base is a bit grumpy these days. It’s hard to blame them after watching Matt Rhule and his program get to five wins rather quickly and then continue to struggle to get to six. The Huskers are currently 0-8 once they get to that fifth victory under Rhule.
People inside the program are getting antsy too. Count Troy Dannen among those who wants to see the Cornhuskers get to six wins and a bowl game. Though he wants to do it for very different reasons than Rhule wants to. He wants to do it for very, very different reasons than the fanbase does.
I want to win six because we are going to start asking people for gifts,” Dannen said on Monday night’s episode of Sports Nightly. “(The stadium project) will cost a lot of money.”
Nebraska football fans might not like the talk of money
Credit Dannen for his honesty. He knows that boosters’ purse strings are going to be looser if the Huskers go to a bowl game this season for the first time since 2016. But fans might not like that a stated reason for going bowling is so one of the richest athletic departments in the country can ask the public for more cash.
Most Nebraska fans know that’s the reality of the situation. One of the principal roles that Dannen is responsible for is raising money. Especially with the renovation of Memorial Stadium on the agenda.
Still, when those same fans have watched one iteration of the Nebraska football program lose over and over and over again, it will be interesting to see the reaction to such naked desire for more money, even if it’s warranted. Dannen is a straight shooter. How that will be taken is still up in the air.