Nebraska
Ex-Nebraska basketball player files lawsuit against school over relationship with former coach
Ashley Scoggin, a former Nebraska Cornhuskers women’s basketball player, accused the head coach of the team and the athletic director of failing to enact safeguards, rules or training to prevent staff members from having sexual relationships with student-athletes.
Scoggin made the accusations in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on Sunday against head coach Amy Williams and athletic director Trev Alberts. The lawsuit detailed how then-associate head coach Chuck Love allegedly took interest in the then-Cornhuskers player as the relationship turned sexual. Scoggin says in the suit it caused her to fear retaliation if she did not engage in it.
University of Nebraska spokesperson Melissa Lee said the school was made aware of the lawsuit on Monday.
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Nebraska’s Ashley Scoggin, #0, plays against Michigan during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, in Lincoln, Nebraska. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File)
“While the University does not comment on the specifics of pending litigation, it does not agree with the allegations contained in the complaint and intends to vigorously defend this matter,” Lee said.
Williams declined to comment to the AP, and Alberts and Love did not respond.
Scoggin played for Nebraska during the 2020-21 and 2021–22 seasons before she was eventually dismissed from the team in February 2022. She now plays at UNLV. She was dismissed from the team the same day Love was suspended with pay. He resigned three months later.
The lawsuit named Love, Williams, Albert and the school’s Board of Regents as defendants.
Williams is still the head coach at Nebraska. Alberts signed an eight-year contract extension with the school in November 2023.
The Oregon native started her internship in Nebraska’s athletic department in the summer of 2021, expressing interest in one day becoming a coach herself. Love invited Scoggin to work at a table in his office and she accepted. The lawsuit says Love, who was married, began to ask her out for drinks, and she eventually accepted the invitation.
According to the suit, they met at a Costco parking lot where Love kissed her and asked, “Have you ever done anything with a coach before?” The alleged interaction left the player feeling “confused and trapped” because “it was now undeniable that Love wanted a sexual relationship.”
Nebraska associate head coach Chuck Love speaks to players from the sideline as they play against Michigan during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, in Lincoln, Nebraska. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File)
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The relationship allegedly turned sexual, and Scoggin claimed in the lawsuit that Love expected her to be “available and willing” whenever he wanted to have sex and summoned her to his hotel room when the team was on the road.
The lawsuit detailed how the team found out about the relationship.
Scoggin’s teammates and practice players allegedly created a ruse to confirm her relationship with Love and videotape it. According to the suit, a male practice player falsely claimed he was Love to a desk clerk at a hotel they were staying in and obtained a key card. Two team members then confronted Scoggin in Love’s room and told Williams what they discovered and videotaped.
“Williams cast Ashley in the role of a seducer and a liar,” the lawsuit says. “She allowed the players to berate and accuse Ashley for hours. She did not redirect or counsel the players that what they had seen may be the result of an abuse of power by her associate head coach.”
Scoggin says in the suit that when she returned to Lincoln, Nebraska, she was not informed of her rights under Title IX, while Williams and other officials said she was off the team.
“NU, Williams and Alberts were motivated to avoid scandal and embarrassment to the Cornhuskers women’s basketball program instead of being motivated to protect its student-athlete, Ashley,” the lawsuit says.
“NU, Williams and Alberts allowed the speculation and perception to fester that Ashley was ‘equally to blame’ or otherwise had done something improper when they should have sent a clear message that it is always improper for a professional coach to pursue a sexual relationship with a student-athlete.”
Nebraska guard Ashley Scoggin, #0, dribbling the ball against Creighton during an NCAA college basketball game on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska. (AP Photo/John Peterson, File)
Scoggin is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damaged for the alleged violations of her civil rights.
“It’s a very troubling and serious subject of predatory coaches that pursue sexual relationships with student-athletes,” Maren Chaloupka, Scoggin’s attorney, said Monday. “There’s an enormous imbalance of power between the professional coach and student-athletes. This is something that was well known in 2022.
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“Certainly Division I universities that operate at the top level are well aware of the harm that comes from this kind of a predatory situation, and there’s a strong onus on the university and on the coaches to prevent this from happening and, heaven forbid it does happen, to address (it) correctly.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The Nebraska State Fair is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a special 72-hour flash sale on Season Passes.
From July 3 through July 5, fans can purchase a 2026 Season Pass for just $50—a significant discount from its regular value of $132.
The pass includes one admission per day for all 11 days of the 2026 Nebraska State Fair, making it ideal for visitors who plan to attend multiple days.
Fair officials say the promotion is one of the biggest Season Pass discounts offered in years and will not be extended.
After July 5, Season Passes will remain available at a higher discounted price.
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Legalizing online sports betting has met with resistance in the Nebraska Legislature for years.
Tax Relief Nebraska, a group backed by Nebraska casinos and online sports betting groups, took the issue to the people of the state through a petition drive.
Those petitions are now in, and casino officials say they expect to have enough signatures to make the November ballot — but also expect pushback through Election Day.
The case for online betting
Currently, legal sports bets cannot be placed on a phone in Nebraska. Casino operators say people who choose to wager are finding other ways to do it.
“They’re just doing it illegally through a virtual private network, or they’re driving over to the first exit between Iowa and Nebraska, placing a bet and then driving back to their home,” said Lynne McNally of Warhorse Casino.
Nebraska casino operators say the state has already collected millions of dollars in state taxes and property tax relief from casino gambling, and that online sports betting would add to that total.
A majority of Nebraskans voted for casino gambling to enter the state in 2020, and casino operators expect similar support if the online betting petition makes the November ballot.
“As you know, we got 65% on the constitutional amendment and actually got nearly 70% on the tax portion of the statute when the casinos were legalized in 2020. I think that we’ll be in that area, if not maybe a little higher than that,” McNally said.
“There’s always going to be a sector of the public that doesn’t want to gamble. They don’t want to go to our facilities and that’s just fine. I guess I have an objection with trying to tell other people what to do,” McNally said.
The opposition
The Nebraska Family Alliance stands against online gambling and plans to campaign against the initiative across the state. The nonprofit group issued a statement that reads in part: “Online sports betting has been a massive public policy failure that benefits national sportsbooks at the expense of kids, student-athletes, families and businesses. While they have more money, they don’t have the truth.”
Pat Loontjer, director of Gambling with the Good Life, has opposed expanded gambling in Nebraska for 30 years.
“They’re telling the same lie — property tax relief. Well in Nebraska you say property tax relief and everybody says where do I sign,” Loontjer said.
Loontjer also raised concerns about the impact on young people.
“Sports betting on the phone is the most addictive thing for young people, young men especially. You’ve got kids that are going to lose their scholarships, lose their future,” Loontjer said.
What comes next
If enough signatures are verified and the issue is placed on the November ballot, Warhorse Casino officials say Nebraskans could be able to make sports bets on their phones by spring of next year.
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Along with marching in the parade, the high schools will tour the U.S. Capitol, visit Mount Vernon and other monuments and museums.
Around 80 Grand Island students are making the trip. Lee said the students cover their own costs, with fundraising largely run though the school’s booster program helping offset the expense.
Bishop Neumann’s 53 students benefited from community donations, along with a holiday greenery sale and fundraisers, which Kellett said helped cover airfare and other costs.
For both directors, the trip carries extra weight tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“That’s a pretty big milestone,” Lee said. “And to be able to be a part of that is pretty neat.”
Kellett said the moment will stay with students long after the parade ends.
“These kids, they’ll be around for the 300th anniversary of the country, and they’ll be able to look back and tell their grandkids, ‘you know, I was there at 250 and was able to march in the National Independence Day Parade,’” Kellett said.
Both bands have spent the summer preparing. Grand Island started working on its music after its final spring concert in May, rehearsing its marching and music together on Tuesday evenings.
Bishop Neumann has rehearsed continuously over the summer and marched in two parades to prepare, a 150th anniversary celebration in Weston and the Papillion Days parade.
Kellett said the band’s last rehearsal in Wahoo drew residents who lined the streets holding signs and cheering the students on.
“The students have come in, and they’ve worked really hard,” Kellett said. “They have their music memorized and they’ve worked on their marching skills, and so all that effort into this they’re ready to go for the parade.”
The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. CT Saturday at Third Street and Constitution Avenue.
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