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Despite Late Flip, Husker Spring 'Event' Is Still a Flop

Attendance for this year's revised spring experience plummeted by over 50,000.

Dan McGlynn

The team enters the field prior to the 2024 Nebraska football spring game.
The team enters the field prior to the 2024 Nebraska football spring game. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN
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If Matt Rhule's goal was to drive Husker fans away from Memorial Stadium, Saturday's affair was a smashing success.

Rhule's first two spring games attracted over 60,000 fans.  This year's turnout was a pathetic 10,000.

I'm not great at math, but this year's tally was about 50,000 less than last year.  That's a lot of Husker fans who weren't there to buy concessions, cheer for their beloved Huskers or help NU recruit future Husker players.

How do Husker fans help in recruiting?

Because of their dedication and passion for football, Husker fans continue to pack Memorial Stadium every home game, travel to away games, bowl games and set spring game attendance records.

Who wouldn't like to play in front of a packed Memorial Stadium?

The list of consecutive sellout games at Memorial Stadium stands at 403 dating back to 1962.  Husker fans also set the Husker spring game attendance record of 86,818 in 2018. 

Rhule's flip at the eleventh hour that allowed a scaled-down football scrimmage failed to move the attendance needle.

Crowd size estimates for Saturday's fiasco ranged from 7,000 to 10,000.  That means the Husker volleyball scrimmage between Kansas and Nebraska may have outdrawn those who showed up at Memorial Stadium for the Spring Event.

Huh?

The Husker football spring games have been going on since 1950.  Yup.  For 73 years (the 2020 game was canceled due to Covid, and the 2012 game was a weather casualty). 

Why mess with something that has been a hit with Husker fans for so long?  

Know this:  Husker spring games are for FANS.  And for families..  Always have been and always will be.

Husker fans are the people who show up in droves to support the Huskers in weather that ranges from Death Valley to Siberia (sometimes in the same week.)  All too often, these same fans have paid boatloads of money to see a second rate product.

So what were Husker fans treated to last Saturday?

A flag football game. Fifty-dollar tours of the Osborne Sports Complex.  A garage sale of Husker memorabilia.  A tractor pull.  A roping contest that featured a fake horse and a fake steer (sigh) and a skills competition (the highlight of the day may have been Dylan Raiola's miracle 40-yard pass that swished through the basketball net that was placed in the end zone).

Wait, there's more.  There was a soccer game (not in Memorial Stadium) and a dialed-down football scrimmage.

Yes, there was a volleyball match (scrimmage) at the Devaney Center between Kansas and the Huskers that night.  It was Dani Busboom Kelly's unofficial debut as the Husker head coach.    (The volleyball match drew about 8,700 fans.)

Maybe the traditional Husker spring games indeed have come to an end. But at what expense?      

Matt Rhule said his two main reasons for eliminating the Red-White spring game was due his concern for losing players to injuries or the transfer portal.

Maybe so.  But what about Husker fans?

Losing them would be a real tragedy.

How 'Bout Them Huskers

Our main focus in this week's podcast is our reactions to the revised Husker Spring "Event."  We also see how the Huskers fared in this year's NFL Draft.  As usual, we peek in on the status of Husker baseball and softball.                                         

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Dan McGlynn
DAN MCGLYNN

Dan “Husker Dan” McGlynn has been writing about Husker football since 2003. His columns have appeared on HuskerMax.com as well as in several local newspapers and magazines. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Dan is a native Nebraskan and lives in Omaha. You may contact him at HuskerDan@cox.net.

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