Nebraska regents to consider shifting authority over Husker sports to NU president

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will consider a proposed bylaw change next week that could shift the direction and oversight of Husker athletics to the NU president.

Regents Tim Clare of Lincoln and Rob Schafer of Beatrice have proposed shifting authority of Husker athletics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln chancellor to the system president.

Clare and Schafer are the chair and vice chair of the board, respectively.

The change would be put forward “for information only” at the May 31 meeting and brought for a vote at a June 22 meeting. If passed, the change would be effective July 1.

“Especially at the Power 5 level, today’s college athletics programs are large and highly complex entities, with enormous financial, legal and reputational implications for their entire institutions,” the regents said in a statement. “We’re in the midst of the most intense period of change in our lifetimes for college athletics. Nebraska needs to stay on the leading edge of this new normal.”

Currently, the NU president hires the UNL chancellor, who is then charged with making hiring decisions within the athletic department.

The chancellor also serves on the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, overseeing Big Ten policies, budget and operations.

The council also is charged with hiring the Big Ten commissioner.

Clare told the Examiner on Tuesday that intercollegiate athletics is “changing daily.”

So shifting authority the president, currently Ted Carter, seemed a “natural” fit.

“I think intercollegiate athletics is in search of a leader who can help them navigate these issues,” Clare said.

The proposed bylaw change would not affect NU’s athletic departments at NU’s Omaha or Kearney campuses.

It comes as UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green plans to retire at the end of June.

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Clare and Schafer said that “Husker Athletics is the single most iconic brand to the state of Nebraska.”

“It makes sense for the president of the university system, with a direct line to the Board of Regents, to have oversight of the program that serves as the front door to the university for so many Nebraskans,” the regents said.

The May 31 meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in Varner Hall at 3835 Holdrege St. in Lincoln and will be livestreamed here.