Matt Rhule's Most Interesting Comment Monday Wasn't About Penn State

LINCOLN—Matt Rhule expressing his love for Penn State and the Nittany Lions AD, before diving into how much he also loves Nebraska and living in Lincoln, is carrying the headlines in the wake of James Franklin's firing.

But something he said Monday about money is just as monumental as if he had outright said he was going to Penn State or staying at Nebraska.

Rhule dove into the investment at Nebraska.

"The thing I've always said, we have to be unabashed. You can't always worry about the optics of everything. It's a really hard time in higher education; there's cuts. There's all these different things," Rhule said.

"But athletics here are a separate entity. We're not taking money from the university."

Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic director Troy Dannen, football coach Matt Rhule, and 1890's Matt Davison. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

This appears to be contradictory to what Nebraska athletics director Troy Dannen said in August, when giving an update on the renovation of Memorial Stadium.

"We’re not going to take anything to the board for their approval, and I don’t know when we will," Dannen said. "The time is not now. In the midst of what I would almost level some degree of crisis on campus. Now is not the time to debut a big capital project."

Nebraska had begun plans and revealed renderings of a proposed stadium renovation under then-AD Trev Alberts. When that plan was first unveiled in 2023, the estimated cost was $450 million.

It would appear Rhule wants that plan to move forward. He would also like more investment into the roster.

Memorial Stadium proposed renovation in 2023. | Nebraska Athletics

"In a world of $30 and $40 million rosters, which isn't going away, I'd like us to do the same thing," Rhule said. "There's sort of like a, 'Hey, that's not really the Nebraska way.' I'd like it to be. I'd like to invest. I'd like to be at the front of everything

"We have a history here at being at the forefront in investing. I just don't want to stop that. I want to be the absolute best at it. I think we can be a perennial, one of the best teams in the country."

For Penn State, which has a connection to Rhule by his playing there in the 1990s and growing up a Nittany Lions fan, a $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium is underway. That renovation is expected to be completed before the 2027 season.

This isn't the first time he's talked about how much money NU does or doesn't have. Just last month, when speaking about the ability to get a running back in the transfer portal, he was blunt.

"Some people paid more money than I had," Rhule said. "That’s the reality of it."

Nebraska was interested in Omaha native CharMar Brown when he entered the transfer portal from North Dakota State. Brown instead chose Miami. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Rhule went on to note how expensive starting defensive linemen cost and that they will "have to spend a lot of money to keep this roster together." Before that, at Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas, he noted that Nebraska wasn't a good job when he arrived, but that they've "made it a good job".

"The money hasn't been what everyone else has, but the Peeds stepped in," Rhule said. "A bunch of other people stepped in. People all stepped in and said, 'Hey, what can I do?'"

Now, with a 5-1 record and ranked in an October AP poll for the first time since 2016, people may be stepping in and again saying, "Hey, what can I do?" If Rhule's answer Monday is any indication, it is the same as he's been asking since Day 1: Invest in Nebraska football like the top programs in the nation.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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