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Nebraska AD Troy Dannen Comments on Friday Night Football

Husker football is set to host Illinois on Friday, Sept. 20 this fall. Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen is not a fan of taking the day away from high school football but recognizes the financial impact and expectations that come with massive media deals.

Kaleb Henry

Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen speaks at the annual "A Night At The Lied" event April 28, 2024.
Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen speaks at the annual "A Night At The Lied" event April 28, 2024. / Nebraska Athletics
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Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen has weighed in on Nebraska being featured among a slate of Friday Night Football games this fall.

"We can be upset about it all we want but we're cashing a pretty large check from our television contract every year—this is the price of that check," Dannen said. "In order to fund what we want to do, you end up with a Friday night game here and there."

Dannen appeared Wednesday on Sports Nightly, the Huskers Radio Network's weeknight show that airs on affiliates across the state of Nebraska, including KLIN Radio in Lincoln. He acknowledged the fact that Friday's are typically not a college football day.

"I know Friday night games cause a lot of heartburn, for a lot of reasons," Dannen said. "We think of high school football, just the logistics of Friday night game in the middle of a college campus. There are gonna be a lot of challenges along with it.

"But I think the ability to put the Huskers in that stadium and our crowd in the national limelight for a night game is ... well worth the challenges that lie ahead with it."

Oct 1, 2022; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Fans participate in a light show at the end of the third quarter between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium.
Oct 1, 2022; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Fans participate in a light show at the end of the third quarter between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska will host Illinois on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. CDT. This will be the first non-Black Friday, weekday game in Memorial Stadium since the Huskers hosted Rice on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2001.

"Believe it or not, the volleyball event last year might have been a good dry run for us and what it would look like during the week and how the impact would be," Dannen said. "[It's] a challenge for our operations crew, but it's gonna be a great environment.

"I love the fact that people around the country are just gonna be focused on us that night watching a game in Memorial Stadium."

You can hear Dannen's full comments, as well as an update on Memorial Stadium's renovation plan and his time in Los Angeles for the Big Ten Conference meetings, below.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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