Huskers’ Rhule upbeat despite Alberts’ departure
LINCOLN, Neb. — Coach Matt Rhule spent the first 10 minutes of his pre-spring football practice news conference Monday giving a pep talk to a Nebraska fan base reeling from last week’s surprise departure of athletic director Trev Alberts.
Rhule has been at the school only 16 months, watching university president Ted Carter leave for the same position at Ohio State and Alberts take off for the AD job at Texas A&M.
Rhule is entering his second year of an eight-year, $74 million contract after going 5-7 in his first season. He said he was surprised and disappointed the two men who brought him to Nebraska are gone so soon.
But Rhule delivered an upbeat monologue invoking Hall of Fame football coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne and sprinkling in names of top players on the men’s and women’s basketball teams headed to the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m here, and I’m all in, and Julie’s all in,” Rhule said, referring to his wife. “I loved Ted Carter and I loved Trev and I came because of them. But I came to be at the University of Nebraska, and I’ve loved the people I’ve met, and we’re not going anywhere unless you guys kick us out.”
Nebraska will be hiring its fourth athletic director since 2013, and the search is being led by an interim president, Chris Kabourek, while executive associate AD for academics Dennis Leblanc leads the department in an interim role.
Alberts, an All-America football player for the Cornhuskers in the early 1990s and athletic director for less than three years, has not given specific reasons for leaving. The contract non-disparagement clause was activated when he resigned. Gov. Jim Pillen, in a statement last week, blamed university regents for moving to slowly in its search for a new president. Alberts had previously expressed frustration that the process wasn’t moving more quickly.
Rhule said Alberts was “forthright” during their phone call last week and, as for Alberts’ reasons, “that’s his story to tell.”
“I have no complaints about how he handled it, at least with me,” Rhule said.
The Cornhuskers have been off the national radar in football since their 1990s heyday, which has taken a toll on the psyche of a state where the program receives year-round attention. Rhule said fans should remember Nebraska has had a strong reputation across college athletics.
He noted the athletic department is self-supporting financially and has been a trailblazer in academic support, strength training and nutrition and more recently in the name, image and likeness space.
“We have to be unabashed in our desire to be the best,” Rhule said. “We cannot worry about optics. We cannot worry about what people say. The way you win in college athletics today is you invest. I can’t think of a state that knows that better than this amazing state — whether it’s all the amazing financial institutions, the people in Omaha, Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. All the agriculture across our state — you won’t get a harvest unless you sow seed and water it.
“Whether it’s salaries, facilities, upgrades, whatever it is. … We need to return to the days when everybody across the country is coming to the University of Nebraska to see how things are being done.”
Tyler Johnson has announced his retirement after playing 13 NHL seasons and winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Johnson called it a career in a lengthy message posted on social media Monday. Johnson had battled injuries in recent years and is set to turn 35 on July 29.
“As a short kid from a small town, I saw my chances of playing in the NHL as very slim,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “But my family — my parents, Ken and Debbie, and my grandparents — believed in me when doubt clouded my mind. Their unwavering faith turned that dream into reality.”
Listed at 5-foot-8 and 191 pounds, Johnson won at just about ever level, capturing the Western Hockey League and Memorial Cup championships in 2008 with his hometown Spokane Chiefs and the Calder Cup championship with Norfolk of the American Hockey League in 2012.
The NHL brought more success, as he skated in 863 regular-season and playoff games since debuting in the league in 2013, putting up 498 points. Johnson was part of the Lightning’s core when they reached the final in 2015 and helped them hoist the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21.
Johnson finished with Chicago, playing three seasons with the Blackhawks, and Boston, signing with the Bruins early last season following his training camp tryout.
“After a lifetime devoted to hockey, I’m ready for what’s next,” Johnson said. “This moment is bittersweet, but I leave the game with no regrets.”
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Mammoth re-signed center Jack McBain to a five-year contract worth $21.25 million on Monday.
McBain will count $4.25 million against the salary cap through the 2029-30 NHL season, which was announced a little more than 24 hours since the team elected salary arbitration with the restricted free agent forward.
“He is a big, strong, physical player who competes hard on a nightly basis and brings a gritty toughness to our group,” general manager Bill Armstrong said. “Jack is an important part of the championship-caliber team we are building, and we look forward to having him back on our roster for the foreseeable future.”
McBain, 25, is coming off setting a career high with 27 points and playing all 82 games. He was one of six players to skate in every game of the organization’s first season in Salt Lake City.
“Jack’s versatility as a player, his care for his teammates and his demonstrated willingness to do whatever it takes to win, are all critical elements to our future team success,” president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said.
McBain has 82 points in 241 games with the franchise, which moved to Utah from Arizona. Since debuting in April 2022, he ranks third in the league with 832 hits.
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