Nebraska football putting balloon tradition on hold due to helium shortage

The College of Nebraska will halt its decades-long custom of releasing balloons at Huskers soccer video games as a consequence of a helium scarcity. 

On Monday, College of Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts introduced the custom will finish at Memorial Stadium in the course of the 2022 soccer season. 

“Whereas we’re nonetheless involved in regards to the environmental impression of the balloons, the fact is buying helium in at this time’s day and age, given a few of the manufacturing of it’s actually challenged and it’s been laborious to get,” Alberts stated Monday on the Huskers Radio Community. 

“And so we’ve been requested by the college that the helium we’re getting as a college we have to use for medical functions at UNMC [University of Nebraska Medical Center] in Omaha. And so, we’re this yr not going to be offering the purple balloons for the primary time at Memorial Stadium.”

Because the Nineteen Sixties, Nebraska soccer followers have launched purple balloons into the sky after the Huskers rating their first landing of every sport. 

Alberts stated the college will work with Nebraska’s advertising division in looking for a distinct method of protecting the custom alive, presumably with digital balloons.  

In accordance with Alberts, the shortage of helium has to do, at the very least partially, with the realm of the world during which it’s produced. 

“As we appeared into it as an athletic division, it grew to become fairly clear … very restricted provide of helium,” Alberts continued. “And it was going to be laborious to get, and a few of the provide chain points which can be on the market proper now. I feel a few of the helium, if I’m not mistaken, is over in Russia.” 

Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, is just not the primary sports activities venue to pause a balloon releasing custom. 

In April, the Indianapolis 500 introduced it will not be protecting with the custom of releasing hundreds of balloons previous to the race as a consequence of environmental issues. 

It’s the third consecutive yr the custom has been scrapped, with the earlier two years largely being as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

“We do acknowledge the discharge has change into extra divisive in recent times,” Vice President of Communications Alex Damron advised the IndyStar in April. “We’ve obtained important suggestions from teams and people against it in addition to an rising variety of our followers. Our aim with the pre-race celebration is at all times to convey folks collectively.”

The Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Might 29.