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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 for Saturday's fiasco ranged from 7,000 to 10,000. That means the Husker volleyball scrimmage between Kansas and Nebraska may have out-drawn those who showed up at Memorial Stadium for the Spring Event. Huh? The Husker Spring Games have been going on since 1950.
Yup. For 73 years (the 2020 game was canceled due to Covid). 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 new 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 of 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. More From Nebraska on SI North Dakota State Transfer, Omaha Native CharMar Brown Picks Miami Over Nebraska Big Ten Conference Announces 2025-26 Women's Basketball Opponents; Nebraska Double-Plays Iowa Nebraska's Gabe Swansen Delivers a Clutch Double to Walk-Off Kansas State Three Things We Know After Nebraska's Spring Football Big Ten Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Opponents; Nebraska Double-Plays Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI , subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube , and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
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