The Man Who Will Decide the Fate of Nebraska's Sellout Streak

Troy Dannen holds the final decision on whether the Huskers' 410-game streak lives or dies. Dave Feit presents the arguments for why he will — or will not — keep it going

Troy Dannen has said a key consideration in any spending endeavor is “does it help us win?” That might have him eyeing the streak differently than his predecessors did. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Author's note

Over the years, I've written a lot of words about the Nebraska football sellout streak.

Five years ago, I said it was "time to let the sellout streak die."

In 2022, I expressed my disappointment with a booster buying 2,100 tickets for $10 each in order to keep the streak alive.

On the eve of the 400th consecutive sellout in 2024, I attempted to reset the narratives surrounding the Streak, and explain the basic economic problem working against the Streak's long-term survival.

Humbly, I suggest you reread those pieces - especially the 2024 one - before continuing on. They will help you understand where I'm coming from and get us on the same page. More importantly, it will save us from a long preamble before we discuss the only thing that really matters regarding the sellout streak in 2026.

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The future of the sellout streak has been a hot topic this offseason. Fans have noticed the increased volume and variety of promotions, sales, and advertising to purchase tickets. Yes, Nebraska has been actively pushing tickets for years, but the efforts this summer have felt more omnipresent - and, to some, a little more desperate.

Recently, Omaha's WOWT aired a segment titled "Nebraska's historic sellout streak faces uncertainty as ticket sales lag.“ The station was able to obtain ticket sales data from NU, which showed some eye-opening numbers. As of Aug. 10, the seven home games this season have an average of nearly 9,600 tickets available - over 10% of stadium capacity.

The game against North Dakota of the lower-tier FCS has the most tickets sold: 74,474 of a possible 82,841. I'm guessing that is largely due to the postgame concert by country music artist Cole Swindell. Games against premier opponents Ohio State and Indiana (ranked No. 1 and No. 6 respectively in the preseason AP poll) each have over 10,000 tickets remaining.

The WOWT report has sounded alarms within the fan base that the streak - which spans 410 games dating back to 1962 - could be in serious jeopardy.

The Huskers celebrated the 400th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium when Illinois visited in 2024. | Amarillo Mullen

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I don't want to waste time relitigating all of the side debates that flare up whenever the sellout streak is mentioned*.

For example:

• "Is the sellout streak still real?"
• "How can it be a sellout if tens of thousands of fans don't show up?"
• "We all know boosters and corporate sponsors are buying up the unused tickets to prop up the streak. Doesn't that invalidate it?"
• "If they want to sell tickets, they just need to win more games."

*Here is a quick summary of my positions on these debates:

• Using a strict interpretation of the widely accepted definition of "sellout" (all tickets available to the general public were sold) Nebraska currently has a 410-game sellout streak dating back to 1962.
• There is a difference between a "sellout streak" and a "butts in seats streak". Nebraska claims the first, not the latter.
• A growing majority of fans acknowledge the streak carries asterisks. The fan base's perception of the streak has changed from a collective accomplishment into a symbol of the enduring loyalty that Husker fans have displayed through good times and bad.
• The core issue facing the streak's future is the growing imbalance between the supply of tickets and a decreasing demand for those tickets. While winning would absolutely increase ticket demand, it would not magically eliminate the numerous factors that have contributed to the weakened demand, (high costs, a 103- year-old stadium lacking many basic amenities, the convenience of watching games in your basement on a 70" high-definition screen, and on and on). Most of those factors are never going away.

Again, these points (and more) are covered in full context and deeper detail in the 2021, 2022, and 2024 pieces. I'm not fishing for clicks when I say they provide depth to the overall conversation and what is to follow.

It is so, so easy to get sucked into these side debates. They stir a lot of passionate takes on both sides. They're great conversation starters for radio, print, and online discourse.

But in 2026, all of those debates are irrelevant. There is only one question that matters. And there's only one person who knows the answer.

The fate of Nebraska's sellout streak rests in the hands of one man:

Troy Dannen.

If Nebraska's athletic director says the streak will survive the 2026 season, it will. But if he is okay with letting the market decide the streak's fate, it will end this fall.

What will he choose? There is a compelling case to be made on either side

The argument for why Troy Dannen would allow the sellout streak to end in 2026.

Dannen would prefer the streak's previous saviors (boosters and corporate sponsors) use their dollars for other priorities. In an interview with Tom Shatel of the Omaha World-Herald, Dannen was blunt: "The No. 1 item on the job description for my job today is ability to generate revenue… If we don’t do our job, our future is severely limited… We’re doing it to put the University of Nebraska athletic program in a better position for success. Today the economic piece is much more relevant and prevalent than at any time in our past."

Once that revenue comes in, there is no shortage of places where it can be spent. Per Dannen, "the most important dollar today in an athletic budget is being directed toward player recruitment and player resources." On that topic, Nebraska is currently 29th in the country (and ninth in the Big Ten) in roster spending, according to The NIL Standard. There's also the $600 million renovation project at Memorial Stadium. Therefore, it is hard to picture him - or his staff - telling boosters and corporate sponsors to divert their donations from NIL spending to go toward buying blocks of unsold tickets to maintain the sellout streak.

Dannen strikes me as a big-picture guy. Getting more talent should lead to more wins, and the Big Red Rebuild project should make Memorial Stadium a better place to watch a game. Both of those will increase ticket demand, even if it means the streak ends this season.

The 300th consecutive sellout came in 2009 with Ndamukong Suh and his teammates wearing 1962 throwback uniforms.

Dannen is not afraid to do unpopular things. Dannen has taken a ton of heat for the volleyball reseating project, with football set to follow in 2027. There was outrage when loyal softball and baseball season ticket holders could not obtain priority access for NCAA regionals ahead of football donors who had never stepped foot in Bowlin Stadium. He's ending the grandfathering exception for season ticket donations at Memorial Stadium - something that none of his predecessors had the courage to do.

Dannen does not care if you like him or loathe him. He cares about results. Winning games is a result. Updating the consecutive sellouts sign in the east balcony from 410 to 411 is a ceremony that rings hollow when tickets had to be sold at a deep discount.

"I can get emotional, but I don't make emotionally based decisions." Dannen said this during his introductory press conference back in 2024. This quote was part of an answer about his desire for seeing health and safety data before recommending changes to how training camps are conducted, so I'll understand if you think it is being used out of context.

That said, I think Dannen has proven himself to be someone who obtains and understands as much data as possible before making big decisions. I suspect he can give a detailed answer on the impacts of maintaining the sellout streak versus letting it go. Just know that the emotional ties that many Husker fans have to the streak may not be at the top of his list.

The argument for why Troy Dannen will not allow the sellout streak to end this year.

Nobody wants to be the athletic director who lets the sellout streak die on their watch. Yes, I just said that Dannen is not afraid to do unpopular things, but there's a difference between getting more revenue by removing donation grandfathering and ending a streak that started when John F. Kennedy was in office.

Two of Dannen's predecessors - Bill Moos and Trev Alberts - had opportunities to end the streak in a way that would not have reflected poorly on their legacies. Moos had the COVID-19 pandemic - a perfect, faceless scapegoat. Alberts had the tenure (and aftermath) of the worst head coach since the 1950s. They both decided to keep the streak on life support. If Dannen pulls the plug now, the optics for Dannen and Matt Rhule (who received a pricey contract extension from Dannen less than a year ago) are harder to spin.

Stadium renovations will buy him some time. Within days - if not hours - of the Ohio State game ending, crews will start demolishing South Stadium, removing a large chunk of seats for all of 2027, and possibly into 2028. When the renovations are done, capacity will be lower*, the seating in West and South will be much better, and hopefully the team is winning more.

*The ongoing struggles to sell tickets should send a crystal-clear message that Memorial Stadium is too big. If we're being brutally honest, the journey to this point started the day the East stadium expansion was approved.

The "Big Red Rebuild" design sketches released in April show a large upper deck surrounding the gigantic video screen atop the rebuilt South Stadium. The full project would keep stadium capacity around 80,000. I wouldn't be shocked if that upper deck gets chopped from the final project, or is significantly scaled back. Doing so would lessen the costs of the project, help ensure it is completed on time, and would create fewer seats to be sold on a weekly basis.

It would be very fitting for a Big Ten athletic director to punt on a major decision.

The extensive efforts by NU to sell as many seats (through legitimate means) as possible. Deals, promotions, offers, advertisements, and more. I've heard stories of fans receiving targeted emails - and cold calls - from NU asking them to purchase tickets. Nebraska's first post-game concert will happen after the North Dakota game. If Dannen is ready to pull the plug, why go through the trouble and expense?

Remember that WOWT piece on ticket sales? It would have been easy for NU to "no comment" a request for ticket sales data. Allowing it to be aired on the 10 o'clock news essentially served as an official call for help. Flashing lights and sirens that the streak is in trouble. I suspect that piece - and the multiple promotions - have helped get some games closer to official sellouts.

There's probably somebody who is willing to pay to keep the streak alive, no matter what. In the previous section, I said that Dannen wants to have as much revenue as possible for rosters and stadium renovations. That is undoubtedly true. But ask anybody who has worked in fundraising: sometimes you have a potentially generous donor, who will only give if their money is earmarked for a specific pet project.

I would not be surprised if the folks in the Husker Athletic Fund offices could name a handful of boosters who would willingly buy up the remaining tickets to keep the sellout streak live - just like what happened in 2022. If these boosters are hesitant to give for NIL, but will donate to keep the streak alive, why not let them do it? It's much easier to say "Yay! We sold out the 2026 season!" than deal with the streak ending.

What I believe will happen

Honestly, I have no clue. My opinion has flipped back and forth multiple times while writing this piece.

I keep coming back to something Dannen said during his introductory press conference in March 2024: "Does it help us win?"

Does the sellout streak - asterisks and all - help Nebraska football win games in 2026, either from capacity crowds or its value as a differentiator in recruiting? Or is it a relic of a bygone era like wingbacks, 10-win seasons, and annual trips to the Orange Bowl?

I don't know. But Troy Dannen likely does.

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The 200th consecutive sellout came in 1994 when the Huskers hosted Colorado in a high-stakes game that Nebraska used as a springboard to a national championship. | Nebraska Athletics

The simplest - and most likely - scenario: Nebraska (with help from some old school boosters who truly revere the sellout streak) carries the streak to the end of the 2026 season. Renovations in 2027 will drop capacity to the point where demand might once again beat out supply. Then in 2028 we see where things are at. More than likely, we're having these same conversations all over again.

Unless…

Hypothetically, let's say the day before the Maryland game there are still 5,000 tickets unsold. After hitting up boosters to sell out the three nonconference games, Dannen decides enough is enough.

A press release is issued saying that the sellout streak is over. Husker fans - and the college football ecosphere - would react with an avalanche of hot takes. National pundits would write columns about "oh, how the mighty have fallen". On Saturday, Nebraska would play the game. Win or lose, the game would immediately become the focus. Over the next few weeks, life would continue to move forward as it always does.

I was born about a month before consecutive sellout No. 66. The streak has been a constant throughout my entire life - and likely yours as well. In that time, I have come to expect that the default position of who is in the AD's office is "it will not end on my watch."

But very little of what Troy Dannen says or does gives off the "that's the way we've always done it, so that's the way we'll continue to do it" vibe. He's a wildcard, and he holds all the cards.

If push comes to shove, what will he choose to do?

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