Nebraska AD Troy Dannen: Fans must embrace 'compensating' players in college sports, regardless of method

Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen is regarded as a forward thinker in the college athletics space, joining the Huskers following a brief stint with Washington as he’ll look to guide the program during unprecedentedly and changing times in college sports.

In his introductory press conference, Dannen made it clear that he believes a successful future in college athletics will go hand in hand with a commitment to success in pouring into student-athletes. Which in the current times means accommodating to them through name, image, and likeness.

On3’s Andy Staples sat down with Dannen at Big Ten Media Days, where he spoke more about how he views the current college landscape and how paying players will impact Nebraska’s success in the future.

“Sometimes we want to romanticize the past and quit worrying about the present and what happened, and 20 years from now the romance of college athletics is going to be today,” Dannen said. “But what had to happen, the five national championships that Nebraska’s won where won under a different model, in a different environment, a different era. And we’re not chasing those five championships, we’re chasing Michigan last year, we’re chasing Ohio State, we’re chasing Georgia. So what do you do to chase it? The world in college athletics is now evolved into X, NIL, and it’s going to evolve into revenue sharing.”

The current college athletics space is not perfect, with many decision makers clamoring for more structure and uniform, nationwide rules or regulations regarding NIL and pushing for a revenue sharing model with student athletes. But regardless of how the present or future looks for compensating athletes, Dannen believes it should be embraced regardless of what it looks like.

“One of the things I felt we need to do Nebraska was get people comfortable in the fact that we’re going to be compensating, whether it’s through NIL or whether it’s through revenue share, it may be down the line employment. We’re gonna be compensating,” Dannen said. “It doesn’t make the game worse, doesn’t make it better, it doesn’t mean you need to turn away from it. So I’m going to need their support. Today I needed it in NIL, next year I’m going to need a revenue sharing model.”

Employment is a term used cautiously in the college sports landscape at the moment, with several differing opinions regarding if student-athletes should be deemed employees through a revenue sharing model or if amateurism should continue to be embraced. A decision that will ultimately be made on Capitol Hill through an ongoing process in the courts.

“Obviously the courts are going to decide that more than one individual, but you have to look around the corner of what might be next. And while we’re still trying to operationalize this revenue-sharing model, there are a lot of court cases out there that could render it moot down the line as well,” Dannen said. “So how do we prepare ourselves for what that eventually may be?”

Regardless of how the future of paying college athletes looks, it appears that Dannen is prepared to stay ahead of the curve and adapt. As he’ll look to maintain the culture at Nebraska and take the program to new heights in the modern era of college athletics.