Texas A&M Officially Hires Nebraska's Trev Alberts As New Athletic Director
Trev Alberts is headed to College Station.
Texas A&M has officially hired the Nebraska athletic director for its Director of Athletics position Wednesday evening, ending a two-month search just before the start of spring football.
Alberts, 53, will replace Ross Bjork, who was hired as Gene Smith's replacement at Ohio State in January. Bjork won't officially take over for Smith until his retirement later this summer, but the department wanted him on campus before the deal became official.
Alberts becomes the fourth athletic director for the Aggies since joining the SEC in 2012 following Bill Byrne's retirement. Byrne, who served as A&M's AD for nine years, was also hired away from Nebraska in 2003.
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"With Trev's expertise, the Aggies are poised to not only excel on the fields, tracks and courts, but also successfully navigate the multi-faceted intersection of sports, commerce and student-athlete empowerment," A&M President Mark A. Welsh III said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "He has a profound understanding of the intricate business of athletics and the evolving landscape of college athletics, particularly in the realm of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL)."
Alberts, who was an All-American football player at Nebraska and the winner of the 1993 Butkus Award, was brought back to Lincoln following a 12-year stay as Nebraska-Omaha's athletic director. He now joins forces with newly-appointed football coach Mike Elko, who was the final hire made under Bjrok's tenure.
Elko, who won ACC Coach of the Year in 2022, went 16-9 during his two seasons at Duke. He also spent four seasons as Fisher's defensive coordinator from 2018-21, helping the Aggies establish one of the better defenses in the Southeastern Conference.
"From my perspective, there has never been a more consequential time in history for higher education and the evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics," Alberts said in the release. "Leadership matters now more than ever before. My interest in Texas A&M is not only due to its prestigious reputation but also because of President Welsh's compelling vision in which, I believe, Athletics can play a small but important role in helping Texas A&M achieve unprecedented success."
A native of Ceder Falls, Iowa, Alberts' No. 34 was retired by the Huskers' football program following his retirement from the NFL in 1996. Alberts was also a two-time Big Eight champion under legendary coach Tom Osborne in 1992-1993.
During Alberts' three-year stint in Lincoln, the former first-round linebacker brought a new life to Huskers athletics. Perhaps his biggest move came with the firing of former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost and the hiring of "program builder" Matt Rhule following his dismissal from the Carolina Panthers.
Under Alberts' watch, Nebraska hosted "Volleyball Day" where the Husker volleyball team played in front of 92,003 fans at Memorial Stadium — the largest attendance in a women's sporting event in NCAA history. In addition to those moves, Alberts landed a 15-year, $300 million multimedia rights agreement with Play Fly Sports for $301 million.
“I truly want to express my gratitude to the University of Nebraska — the school and its fans have been and always will be immensely important to me,” Alberts added. “Nebraska changed my life, and I’m thankful for the incredible 15 years I spent here.”
Prior to his life in college athletics, Alberts served as a college and NFL analyst following his career with the Indianapolis Colts, working for several television networks, including ESPN, CBS Sports Network and the now-defunct CNN/SI.
After agreeing to a new contract extension at Nebraska last summer through 2031 with an annual salary of $1.7 million, Alberts is expected to make at least $2 million annually at A&M. Per the Lincoln Journal Star, Alberts' current buyout would be $4.12 million.
"I want to welcome Trev and his family to Aggieland," interim athletic director and former A&M coach R.C. Slocum said in the release. "I want to thank President Welsh, and also the committee led by Dave Dunlap for their thorough and tremendous efforts in selecting Trev Alberts to lead our student-athletes, coaches and staff."
A press conference will be scheduled early next week. The Houston Chronicle's Brent Zwerneman was first to report the news of Alberts being targeted as A&M's next AD.