Toto, we’re not in the Pac-12 anymore
Toto, we’re not in the Pac-12 anymore
On Thursday, the Big Ten Conference unveiled the complete opponent rotations for all 18 schools for the 2024 volleyball season.
On Thursday, the Big Ten Conference unveiled the complete opponent rotations for all 18 schools for the 2024 volleyball season.
Yes, all 18. Starting to feel real, isn’t it?
It was admittedly surreal to see USC, UCLA, Orgaon and Washington on Nebraska’s schedule for next fall, but even more surreal to see the Big Ten unveil the full opponent rotations of those four teams too.
Toto, we’re not in the Pac-12 anymore.
As for how it breaks down, the Huskers will host USC and UCLA, while paying a visit to Oregon and Washington. Nebraska will also host Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue and Rutgers, while traveling to Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State. Last but not least, the Huskers will also face Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin both at home and on the road.
For reference, each Big Ten team will have seven conference home games and seven conference away games this fall, as well as three conference opponents they will play twice. The four West Coast schools automatically matched up in the home/away matchups to help ease travel and costs associated.1
We won’t know the dates of the matchups until this summer — the Big Ten announced its 2023 schedules on June 14 last year — and the TV schedules won’t come until early August.
In the meantime, here are a quick few things we have to look forward to:
>> Tyler Hildebrand returns to Lincoln once again: Hildebrand just joined USC’s staff as the associate head coach, which means he’ll be back in Lincoln to face coach John Cook and the Huskers once more. Hildebrand was most recently the head coach at Long Beach State, and the Sharks visited Lincoln this past September. It’s always a homecoming of sorts when Hildebrand returns to Lincoln, and now he’ll be a more regular face as a member of the Big Ten.
>> Ally Batenhorst returns too: Batenhorst is technically still in Lincoln — she’s a member of the Huskers’ beach volleyball team this spring — but she’ll transfer to USC when the semester is over. There’s little doubt that the Nebraska crowd will be excited to see her this fall.
>> That double Wisconsin matchup remains important: Facing the Badgers is always a test for the Huskers, and seeing Wisconsin twice is never a bad thing for Nebraska. In 2023, the Huskers defeated Wisconsin in the first meeting, 3-2 — the first time since the 2017 season — but was swept on the road in the second meeting.
Those matchups with the Badgers can be a major test for Nebraska, and it has also been known to determine the winner of the Big Ten for the season. Obviously the four new programs will make things more interesting, but having Wisconsin twice on the schedule is never a bad thing for Nebraska.
>> Speaking of schedules: Athletic director Trev Alberts spoke with Counter Read recently about the competitive equity when it comes to 18 teams and figuring out how to balance it all.
“We're already not playing each other, but how do you factor in the strength of schedule? In a perfect world, everybody plays everybody. It's determined between the white lines,” he said. “Instead, there's going to be conference champions crowned that never even play the top teams. Then the question is how far are you pushing? Do you meet in Vegas and you play 14 games for a cost perspective? You're going to have to find some common ground, because you also have to consider the missed class time.
“It's going to look different and people will be frustrated, I'm just going to be honest, but there will be solutions.”
The volleyball opponent rotations is one of the first glimpses into those solutions.
Other news and notes from the week:
>> We received the contract details for co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas earlier this week. He’ll make $800,000/year over his two-year contract.
With coach Matt Rhule’s staff now settled, the total assistant salary pool sits at $6.775 million. That includes the increase in salaries for defensive coordinator Tony White and offensive line coach Donovan Raiola.2
>> The news that Jordy Bahl tore her ACL and will miss the 2024 season has made its way to Oklahoma. It’s no surprise, as Sooner fans have continued to pay attention to and vocally support Bahl through her transfer to Nebraska.
On Wednesday, Bahl’s former coach Patty Gasso was asked about the injury.
“It’s horrible for anybody really. Jordy went through injuries as a freshman, but you wish her well,” Gasso said. “She was sitting at the airport with our team, talking with our team. There are still the memories. The last memory they had was singing on stage with Toby Keith. That’s something they will cherish, especially now, forever. There’s this bond that they still have. You’re in the battlefields together.”
Bahl plans to apply for a medical hardship for the 2024 season. She will have two seasons of eligibility remaining if granted.
Nebraska softball continues on with its season, spending the weekend in New Mexico for the Troy Cox Classic. If you’re wanting to tune in, be aware that the game times have been moved up 30 minutes from their original times.
>> Nebraska baseball begins its season on Friday in Texas. The Huskers are set to face Baylor, No. 21 Texas Tech and Oklahoma in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Friday’s pitcher is RHP Brett Sears, Saturday’s is LHP Will Walsh and Sunday’s is LHP Caleb Clark.
Also, the Big Ten preseason poll was released Wednesday and the Huskers were predicted to finish fifth this season. The head coaches of the Big Ten’s 13 baseball programs participate in the voting, and the top six teams in the results are announced.
>> If you need some weekend listening, Rhule was on the College GameDay podcast this week. He covers a lot of ground, including farm stories told by Alberts. But more importantly, he discussed the famous chili and cinnamon rolls combo.
“It’s got everything you like,” Rhule said. “It’s got carbs. It’s got sugar. You take the heat of the chili with the sweet of the cinnamon roll. It’s an absolute game changer.”3
Another thing to note is that the Big Ten was especially strategic when it broke up how each program will meet the West Coast schools. The other 14 schools will host two and travel to two. Wisconsin, for example, hosts Oregon and Washington, and travels to UCLA and USC — the opposite of Nebraska. We won’t get the full schedules until this summer, but that breakdown in pairings is still strategic. Schools who travel to either will obviously stay to face both programs while in the area, which makes sense to see the USC/UCLA pairing and Washington/Oregon pairing.
For reference, Rhule is allowed $7 million for his 10 contracted assistant coaches.
“Who does it better than Runza?” That’s how Rhule finished his chili and cinnamon rolls comment, and if I’m Runza, I’m putting that on a t-shirt right now. In fact, I direct messaged the Runza team and told them they need to plaster that endorsement everywhere. Send me a shirt when you do, Runza! (And if you want to sponsor the newsletter, we’ll gladly mention that endorsement a few times for you.)