Nebraska
Do You Really SUPPORT Nebraska Men’s Basketball?
I recently sparked a firestorm with a tweet questioning whether Nebraska fans truly support the men’s basketball team. The backlash was immediate and intense, but it revealed some important truths about the future of college sports.
Serious question on a Friday – how many of you really care about this?
I realize Nebraska wants to compete in every sport, but is that reality in the current landscape?
Why would we bother pumping money into this sport when we have so many others that are more successful? pic.twitter.com/V9ahWQuhK1— Corn Nation (@CornNation) March 21, 2025
What I discovered is that most fans equate “support” with buying tickets and attending games. While Nebraska boasts impressive attendance figures, the reality of modern college athletics is that genuine support now means financial investment through NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) contributions. Nebraska’s NIL figures hover around $2.5 million, near the bottom of the Big Ten. For comparison, Maryland recently received a $10 million donation for their basketball program.
When I pointed this out, not a single person responded that they had personally contributed to NIL funds. Instead, they defended their fandom through attendance and merchandise purchases. But in today’s competitive environment, that’s no longer enough.
The impending House settlement will dramatically reshape college athletics in 2025, allowing universities to pay athletes directly—up to $20 million annually. This fundamental shift will further intensify the financial demands of building competitive programs.
For those who think NIL is unsustainable, I encourage you to look at SMU. They’ve strategically used their financial resources to buy their way into the ACC, make the college football playoff, hire top athletic directors and coaches, and even defeat our revered volleyball team. They’re not waiting for perfect circumstances—they’re aggressively investing to create success.
Meanwhile, some Nebraska fans suggest we should wait for “the right coach” or “better players” before investing more heavily in basketball. This passive approach guarantees continued mediocrity and the persistent embarrassment of never having won an NCAA tournament game.
Tom Peters’ business philosophy from “Thriving on Chaos” applies perfectly here: “You’d better obsolete yourself or someone else will.” College athletics is becoming increasingly proactive and investment-driven. Programs can either adapt to this reality or accept perpetual mediocrity.
I’m not dismissing the importance of in-person support. Our volleyball atmosphere is electric, Memorial Stadium on football Saturdays is spectacular, and baseball fans show remarkable dedication. But financial support for athletes is the new reality we must embrace.
To put my money where my mouth is, I’m donating all proceeds from this month from Youtube to the 1890 Initiative for men’s basketball. Perhaps it’s enough for the “pinky toe of a decent point guard,” but it’s a start.
Whether we like it or not, college athletics is changing forever. The programs that thrive will be those willing to invest aggressively in their athletes.
The question is: will Nebraska basketball fans step up with the financial support needed to finally break through, or will we continue to be dragged nationally for never having won an NCAA tournament game?
The future of data centers in Nebraska took center stage at a North Omaha town hall Thursday evening.
The event was hosted by State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, who alongside Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that looked to help regulate data centers.
Parts of their bill were adopted and passed in LB1010, which requires reports on annual power usage, water usage and ownership.
“Having this passed in a package showed a lot of bipartisan work,” Spivey told a crowd of attendees at Nelson Mandela Elementary School.
The proposed regulations were shaped in part by Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group focused on eminent domain and clean energy. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of Bold Nebraska, said before the bill passed there were “zero laws on the books” to address a boom in data centers.
“If one is coming into the community, we wanted to make sure that there were some basic transparency things in place,” Kleeb said.
Political discussions around data centers heated up in recent months following reporting by the Flatwater Free Press that showed Google is considering a data center in Nebraska that could require more than three times the amount of power the entire city of Lincoln uses at peak demand in the summer.
The Nebraska Legislature recently passed another bill, LB1261, that allows private developers to build and own power plants to serve a large industrial customer, including data centers. That bill was proposed by the governor’s office and celebrated by Gov. Jim Pillen.
“Our state is once again taking a bold and strategic step – one that will create an environment that attracts business and multibillion dollar investment, while legally preserving Nebraska’s unique and consumer-friendly public power model,” Pillen said at the time.
At Thursday’s town hall, McKinney called LB1261 “the bogeyman bill.”
“It’s a bill that the governor pushed through the legislature to allow for data centers to create their own power,” McKinney said. “It’s a bill that I stood on the floor and said this is going to harm our communities.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Hundreds of people are without power in southeast Nebraska after a severe storm passed through Thursday morning.
The Lincoln Electric System outage map showed 115 customers without power across the city at 11:36 a.m.
Norris Public Power District’s outage map also shows 45 customers affected by the storm. As of 11:36 a.m., there were nine active outages.
According to the Nebraska Public Power District outage map, 657 customers were affected by the storm. Most of the affected customers were near Plattsmouth in southeast Nebraska. As of 11:37 a.m., 27 customers remain without power.
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Mandatory evacuations have been ordered near Crawford, including Fort Robinson State Park, as the South Fork Fire continues to spread in western Nebraska.
According to the City of Crawford, evacuations are currently underway for an area north of Crawford that includes the area south of Dodd Road, west of Dodd Road, and FF Street.
Fort Robinson has also been evacuated.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission said Fort Robinson State Park and Peterson Wildlife Management Area have been temporarily closed due to the fire.
The fire has burned approximately 9,000 acres and is currently 0% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Nebraska Game and Parks said the park and the WMA will remain closed until further notice to support firefighting operations and protect public safety.
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