Husker Tickets

Goodbye Big 12, Hello Big Ten

Today is a big day for fans who enjoy Husker tickets, as Nebraska says goodbye to the Big 12 Conference and hello to its new home, the Big Ten Conference.
It was shocking news a little more than a year ago when the Big Ten Conference announced that it was adding Nebraska to its lineup. Nebraska was a cornerstone member of the Big Eight Conference, which morphed into the Big 12 Conference in the mid 1990's, so the news that Nebraska was jumping ship was, to say the least, shocking.
The Husker athletics program felt it was being slighted in the BIg 12, a conference where it felt one member –- the University of Texas –- had flexed its muscles and had all but taken over the conference agenda.
Nebraska's sports programs experienced a rather acrimonious farewell on some campuses, with the likes of Kansas, Kansas State and Colorado – athletic programs  that were regularly dominated by Nebraska in many sports, most notably football – providing not-so-subtle going-away parties when Nebraska visited their schools in some sports.
The Husker athletic program's departure puts them in some pretty fast company. Traditional athletic powers such as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State –- teams that the Husker football team might see only in a bowl game setting –- have become annual foes that will develop a new tradition of rivalries as the schools' sports teams battle for conference titles and national honors.
The move also gives Nebraska a new natural rival, as the University of Iowa will now become a regular opponent on the Husker schedule. This has football fans for both teams, in particular, excited about the annual battle for area bragging rights.
Whether it's football, basketball, volleyball or baseball, you can get great seats to see the Huskers in action as the newest members of the Big Ten Conference. Get your Husker tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

Busy week ahead for Huskers

Whether you're a football or a basketball fan, it's a good week to have Husker tickets as both teams will have some high-profile matchups on deck in the next week.

The Husker football team closes out its final regular season in the Big 12 Conference on Friday, as they play host to the Colorado Buffaloes. It's the final time the two teams will meet as conference opponents, as both teams are moving to new conferences next season. Nebraska, of course, is moving to the Big Ten Conference, while Colorado joins Utah in the new Pac 12 Conference.

If the Huskers win on Friday, they will be North Division champions for the second straight year and will play in the Big 12 Conference Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 4, against either Oklahoma or Oklahoma State, in the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It will be Nebraska's last game as a member of the Big 12 Conference, and they will be looking for their second conference championship with a win over either the Sooners or Cowboys.

For basketball fans out there, the Husker basketball team is back from their early-season holiday tournament in Puerto Rico and will have a couple of high-profile matchups in the week ahead.

On Saturday, the Huskers play host to traditional Pac 10 power USC, who will be making a rare trip east to play in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers will also have their annual home matchup with in-state rival Creighton in a Sunday, Dec. 5 showdown at 1 p.m.

You can get great Husker tickets for any sporting event at Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

Huskers leaving Big 12 for Big 10 in 2011

College sports may never be the same after the Husker athletic program makes its move to the Big 10 Conference.
The decision to make the move was approved by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, which unanimously approved a resolution announcing the school's intention to leave the Big 12 Conference at the end of the coming school year.
Nebraska's move was necessitated by school officials' concerns about the health of the Big 12 Conference. Chancellor Harvey Perlman said the school could not be guaranteed the long-term status of the conference with the talk of conference shifts. He said Texas could not guarantee that it would share in future TV revenue, as there has been talk of the school forming its own revenue-generating TV network.
By moving to the Big 10, the Husker athletic program will receive the same amount of money it would get if it stayed in the Big 12 in 2011-12, and would eventually receive a full share of the mega-conference's revenue, which is expected to double that the Husker athletic department currently receives. If the conference expands to include schools like Rutgers or Notre Dame, that amount could rise considerably.
While the decision to move to the Big 10 is mainly a football decision, the move will have a positive impact on all Husker athletic programs. Nebraska will enjoy top-notch competition in sports like volleyball and basketball, and could become an instant contender in baseball. They will also face quality competition in other sports, like wrestling and track and field, and will also be a part of what is arguably the premier academic-oriented conference in the nation.
This will be the final year that Husker athletics will be involved in the Big 12, so Husker tickets will be a hot property for Nebraska fans this coming school year.
You can get great tickets to see the Huskers at Ticket Express -- where no Husker sporting event is ever sold out.

Big 12 or Big 10: Where are Huskers going?

The future of Husker athletics is a little unsettled after this past week's Big 12 Conference meeting in Kansas City, Mo.
The top item of discussion was expansion, particularly the ongoing speculation that Nebraska and Missouri might leave the Big 12 Conference to join the Big 10 Conference.
In past weeks, rumors have circulated that the Big 10 Conference was looking at expansion, and Nebraska and Missouri were among four or five teams that were being tabbed as potential suitors for the conference. The idea was to create a 16-team super-conference that would expand the Big 10 Conference's reach into big-market areas like New York City, Kansas City and St. Louis. In addition, bringing Nebraska into the mix would give the conference's new alignment additional relevance with its traditional place among college football's elite.
Late last week, a bigger bomb was dropped on the Big 12 meetings when reports surfaced that the Pac 10 Conference was prepared to offer membership to six Big 12 schools, including Texas and Oklahoma. Another report surfaced that officials from Ohio State and Texas were discussing the possibility of bringing Texas into the Big 10, but later reports indicated that the Texas Legislature was discussing legislation that would require any conference that wants Texas to offer membership to Texas A&M and Texas Tech as well.
The discussions regarding a change in conference affiliation would have far-reaching effects on Husker athletics, well beyond the football field. While the potential change in conferences is football-driven, the move would also have an effect on other high-profile sports as volleyball, basketball and baseball. The Husker athletics program would find themselves in better positions for success in some sports, such as baseball, but might find the going a little tougher in sports like basketball and volleyball.
Recent reports indicate that Nebraska and Missouri have until Friday, June 11, to make their intentions known as far as whether or not they plan on staying with the Big 12 or pursuing affiliation with the Big 10.
Don't forget, no matter what sport it is, you can get the best Husker tickets at Ticket Express -- where no Husker athletic event is ever sold out.

Not a great year for Huskers, but not a bad one

The 2007-2008 season is one that will not be forgotten very quickly for fans of Husker sports.

The one thing that may get lost in the cracks, though, is the fact that Nebraska won just one Big 12 Conference championship during the past athletic year. The volleyball team shared the title with Texas, marking the fewest conference titles won by Nebraska since joining the Big 12 Conference 12 years ago.

All in all, it wasn't a very good year for Husker athletics overall. Still, in spite of some of the ugly episodes of the previous 12 months -- the football fiasco and firing of athletic director leading the charge -- there were some good highlights this season for Big Red fans.

The women's basketball team qualified for the NCAA tournament and won a first-round matchup, marking just the second time in team history that they advanced to the second round. The Husker wrestling team finished in the top five nationally for the first time in over a decade, the track and field team was once again among the nation's best and the baseball team was ranked as high as No. 5 before a late-season slump took some of the shine off an otherwise-successful spring campaign.

In addition to the football team's worst record in almost half a century, season lowlights included the softball team finishing tied for last in the conference and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 14 years, the women's soccer team tied for last and missed the postseason tournament for the second straight year, and the women's gymnastics squad finished last at the conference meet and missed nationals after finishing in the top six nationally eight times in the previous nine seasons.

In the sweepstakes for the Big 12 conference, the Huskers scored 131 points and finished fourth behind Texas (178), Texas A&M (175) and Oklahoma (135). Texas A&M won the most conference titles this season, taking nine in all, while Texas was second with seven. Sweepstakes points are scored based on a school's finish in each sport (1st place is worth 12 points, 2nd place 11, etc.).

Athletic director Tom Osborne told the Omaha World-Herald that he is pleased with where the Husker athletic program is at right now and feels each team can be competitive nationally and at the conference level next season.

Lot of excitement over Husker hoops recruit

Both of the state's major newspapers' websites were gushing over the prospect of an Angolan native that has orally committed to play basketball for the Huskers as the team's first recruit for the 2009-2010 school year.

Vander Joaquim was sponsored by the Shadow Mountain Chruch and is a senior this year at Christina High in El Cajon, Calif. He had originally given a verbal commitment to the University of San Diego assistant coach Walter Roese, but Roese has since become an assistant for Doc Sadler at Nebraska and it appears Joaquim will follow Roese to Lincoln after graduating from high school next year.

Roese was hired by Sadler because of his international connections, and that seems to be paying some immediate dividends. Joaquim speaks Portugese and is learning English, and he certainly will have help from Roese, who is a Brazilian native and speaks three languages, including Portugese.

Joaquim, still growing at 6-foot-9, has a ton of potential, according to college basketball experts. Last year, he averaged 21 points and 17 rebounds a game at Christian High, according to coach Kelvin Starr. He also has this assessment of his talents on ESPN's Top 100 list of 2009 recruits, where he is tabbed at No. 94:

"In a nutshell, Joaquim oozes upside. He has the ideal length, athleticism and savvy to be a high-major 4 (power forward). His back-to-the-basket game is raw, but he has great hands and appears to be very coachable."

Joaquim came to America on the recommendation of his uncle after showing his talent as a member of the Angolan national team at a tournament in Brazil. His uncle played college basketball at Wayland (Texas) Baptist College, and after searching for schools in America that offer English as a second language, his family selected Christian High in California.

Nebraska has three scholarships available for the 2009-2010 season. Joaquim is the team's first commitment for that season.

Husker basketball may get prep standout

Husker basketball coach Doc Sadler is looking far and wide for recruits to play for the Nebraska Cornhuskers next season, and he may have found a dandy.

Eshaunte Jones ended speculation late last week by announcing that he will play at Nebraska. He chose the Huskers over some notable programs, including West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Memphis.

Jones had originally committed to Indiana in 2006, but chose instead to play at Hargrave Military Academy, a Virginia prep school, for his final season. He signed to play at Oregon State, but got released when the new coach didn't contact him.

During his final high school season at Fort Wayne North Said (Ind.), he was one of the top prep players in the state. He finished third in the state in scoring, averaging 28 points per game, and also shot 42 percent from the field. During his one season at Hargrave, he averaged 19 points per game before an ankle injury ended his season early. Hargrave went on to win the prep school national championship.

At this point, Jones is finishing class work to become eligible by the NCAA academic clearinghouse and told the Lincoln Journal-Star he hoped to be taking summer classes at UNL.

Sadler looking for basketball talent overseas

Nebraska basketball coach Doc Sadler is looking for someone who loves travel and basketball.

The Husker hoops mentor is entering his third year as coach, and he is looking for someone who can recruit in some of the non-traditional locations for college coaches.

And we're not talking small towns, folks -- we're talking places like Europe, Brazil or Austrailia.

Recently-departed senior Aleks Maric is a native from down under, and Sadler recognizes there is a lot of college-level talent playing in places outside the continental United States.

In a recent Omaha World-Herald article, Sadler said it's important for him to develop a niche in recruiting that will help them be more competitive in the Big 12, one of the toughest basketball conferences in the country and home to defending national champion Kansas.

"After being here for two years and studying our situation, I realize I've got to find a niche," he said. "We can't just roll the balls out and compete with the (North) Carolinas and the Kentuckys."

Sadler has previous experience coaching foreign-born players beyond Maric. While at UTEP, some of the kids he coached came from faraway places such as Greece, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. He is hoping to find an assistant who can make those kinds of connections and find players from overseas who could benefit from not only a college education, but a chance to play at college's highest level.

Strowbridge to leave Nebraska

Sophomore guard Jay-R Strowbridge will be leaving Nebraska at the end of the spring semester, the Lincoln Journal-Star reported earlier this week.

Citing family concerns, Strowbridge asked for a transfer so he can be closer to his family in Alabama. He had a cousing murdered in Huntsville, Ala., during the Christmas holiday.

Strowbridge averaged about five points and two assists per game for the Huskers in 2007-08, helping the team win 20 games for the first time in nine years and reach the second round of the NIT. He was third on the team with 25 3-point shots made.

Strowbridge is the second Husker to ask for a transfer. Shang Ping announced last week he is leaving the program after one season.

NU should give Sadler a raise

After taking the Nebraska basketball team to its first 20-win season in several years, Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne needs to make sure Doc Sadler is a happy guy.

And by happy, we mean -- paid better than he is right now.

Now we know that making $700,000 a year is not chump change by any stretch of the imagination. Still, with some of the recent moves being made in college basketball, it's always good to make sure a hot coach is paid well and kept happy right where he is.

Sadler has done a fantastic job resurrecting the Nebraska basketball program. In two years, Nebraska is 37-27 and went 20-13 this past season, reaching the second round of the NIT.

Now, of course, the objective is to make it to the Big Dance at the NCAA tournament. Still, considering where this program was when he came on, Sadler has done about as good a job as one could expect considering the talent on hand in comparison to the teams they have faced.

Some recent job openings have raised concern that Sadler might jump the Husker ship. With openings at Marquette and the recent firing of Sean Sutton at Oklahoma State, Sadler is a coach whose name could draw interest from programs looking to hire a hot coach and pay him big bucks to do it.

It's unlikely Sadler would consider the OSU job, though. Sadler is close friends with the Sutton family -- he babysat Sean Sutton while an assistant for his father, Eddie -- so that personal relationship may kill any possible move within the conference.

Expect discussions to go on regarding a little bump in Sadler's paycheck, though. With the talent returning and a good recruiting effort in place, Sadler could be the guy that takes Nebraska far into the NCAA tournament in years to come.