Nebraska Athletics to provide additional scholarships

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska Athletics will further enhance its long-standing commitment to Husker student-athletes by significantly increasing its scholarship allocation. The plan will be a phased approach over three years, beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.

Nebraska plans to add 78 new scholarships for 2026-27, including 48 new scholarships for women and 30 additional scholarships for male student-athletes. The increased commitment will give Nebraska a total of 360 scholarship student-athletes in the 2026-27 academic year.

“The decision to significantly increase our number of scholarships reaffirms Nebraska’s commitment to the student-athlete,” Nebraska Director of Athletics Troy Dannen said. “This will not only help each of our teams compete at a high level, but it will also better support many student-athletes in their education and pursuit of a college degree.”

Nebraska will continue to increase its scholarship count over the following two years. Nebraska plans to add an additional 32 scholarships in 2027-28, 17 for women’s student-athletes and 15 for men. In the final year of the three-year plan, Nebraska will add 41 new scholarships in 2028-29, including 31 for women and 10 for men.

At the conclusion of the three-year plan, Nebraska will provide the maximum number of allowable scholarships for women’s sports, and approximately 80 percent of the maximum amount for men’s sports. Nebraska’s total number of scholarships offered is expected to be 433 for the 2028-29 season.

“Nebraska is proud of its history as a leader in women’s athletics,” Nebraska Deputy AD/Senior Woman Administrator Kristen Brown said. “The opportunity to provide all Husker female student-athletes with scholarships is the latest example of that commitment. We are pleased that the addition of these scholarships, along with the addition of Women’s Flag Football, will help Nebraska achieve our long-standing goal of Title IX proportionality.”

The increased scholarship allocation is allowable based on the House settlement which was finalized last summer. For schools participating in the settlement, including Nebraska, NCAA scholarship limits have been removed, and roster limits have been established for each sport. Under this new model, schools have the option to offer partial or full scholarships to every student-athlete on a team’s roster, provided the number of student-athletes stays within the sport’s specific roster limit.

In January, Nebraska announced the addition of women’s flag football as a varsity sport, with the first season of competition scheduled for the spring of 2028. The addition of flag football gives Nebraska 25 varsity sports, including 15 women’s sports and 10 men’s sports.