After weeks of speculation regarding Fred Hoiberg’s future as Nebraska’s head men’s basketball coach, athletic director Trev Alberts put that discussion on hold Thursday night.
During his monthly radio show on the Husker Sports Network, Alberts confirmed that Hoiberg would be back for a fourth season in 2022-23.
The announcement came as NU closes out a third-straight 20-loss campaign. Hoiberg is currently 21-65 overall at Nebraska, and 6-48 in Big Ten Conference play.
“Obviously, the season has not gone the way anybody wanted," Alberts said. "It’s been a really tough season for our fans to watch, to be honest. It’s been tough for all of us, and really tough for Fred…
“But I think it’s important to let our fans know and to let others know - I’ve been here about seven months now, so not a real long time, and I’ve been working with Fred Hoiberg. He and I have been meeting weekly, a lot like I did with Coach (Scott) Frost, and the reality is that both of us agree that the results are just unacceptable. Coach Hoiberg is frustrated like anybody else.
“But we’ve worked through a lot of different scenarios, and I think the thing that’s important to know - we still have some games to play - is that Fred will be back as our head coach.”
Alberts added that Hoiberg agreed to restructure his contract in part with the decision. Hoiberg will reduce his annual salary from $3.5 million to $3.25 million, and he'll also give up a $500,000 stay bonus "to help make changes he’d like to make."
Alberts also announced that Hoiberg's buyout, which would have been $18.5 million after this season, had been cut to $11 million.
As he did when he brought NU football coach Scott Frost back for a fifth season this fall, Alberts said he'd also agreed with Hoiberg on some "similar metrics" to measure the program's future success.
Like with football, Alberts said those metrics for men's basketball would be kept confidential.
Alberts said Hoiberg also laid out a plan for how he would change aspects of his program to turn the Huskers around.
“I asked him for some vision and some planning and what can we do in our program to change, because we can’t continue doing this," Alberts said. "He presented a plan to me and ultimately sold that plan to me…
"I believe in Fred, and I’m looking forward to the changes that he makes. Those changes will be his to make, and they’ll be on his timeline. I want to be very clear about that as well.”
Alberts admitted that the pricetag of Hoiberg's contract, specifically the massive buyout, played a factor into the decision.
“There’s a lot of things outside of basketball-specific in terms of decision making," Alberts said. "A lot of those contemplate previous commitments that the university’s made. The reality is that the university made an eight-year commitment to Fred Hoiberg, and we’ve finished three years of that contract.”
Hoiberg released a statement shortly after Alberts' announcement.
“As I said when I was hired three years ago, it is an honor to be the men’s basketball coach at the University of Nebraska, and I am excited to continue to lead the Husker program," Hoiberg said. "This has always been a special place to me and my family, and we have grown to love the Lincoln community in our time here.
“I appreciate the confidence that Trev Alberts and University leadership has shown in me. Our results on the court have not been what anyone would have hoped, but I am more committed than ever to building a successful basketball program at Nebraska.”
