1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Why Cant Nebraska Sell Out Tennis, Wrestling & Soccer?: September 9th, 1:25pm

Episode Date: September 9, 2026

Why Cant Nebraska Sell Out Tennis & Soccer?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Back to one-on-one with D.P. Sponsored by the Downtown Lincoln Foundation on 93-7 the ticket. Welcome back. Coach Demagro just sent our meetings. We knew there was a meeting for one. It just went along the way. Again, there's some things going on for Husker women's tennis on the schedule. So you've got the All-American Championship, the Indoor Tennis Association, All-American Championships in Kerry, North Carolina, which is Raleigh-Durham Triangle.

That's a big event. And then September 25th through the 27th, the Husker Invitational Indoor at Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center indoors. And then the 28th through the second, it's the UTR Pro Tennis Tour tournament at the Dillon Tennis Center here in Lincoln. until you change the opportunity to support Husker women's tennis. Go down and see some matches. Go down and see the facility. And if you have not, let me just say this.

If you have not been to the Dillon Tennis Center, and again, it sits right next to Hibner. They're attached. So if you've ever been to a soccer game, but I would also imagine that a lot of you have not also been to soccer games. So Thursday night, the Big Ten,

soccer part of the schedule kicks off. Indiana, Indiana, comes to Hibner for a 7 o'clock, first ball. The Huskers are two, one, and three, three ties. Two, one and three. They tied their last match against Kansas State. School has tie in on the road in Manhattan, Kansas. but Indiana comes in and then Sunday at 1 o'clock the Huskers travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. But if you have not, you're looking for something to do. In Thursday there's plenty. A large portion of you, 10,000 or so will head over to the Devaney Center,

the new improved, renovated Devaney Center. And I'm looking forward to reviews. I want reviews. Bach of the new Devaney. Yeah, I do. I'm interested. Right? We will be at Seacrest Thursday and Friday night for high school. So if you're, plenty to do Thursday night.

Plenty to do. You can go to Devaney for volleyball. You can go to Hibner for soccer. You can go to Seacrest for high school. You can tell me what you're doing of the three. Some of you are going to stay home and watch the Niners, which we understand. which we understand.

And then Friday, we will be back at Hibner. I'm at T-Krest for more high school football. The directional Lincoln series takes full effect Friday night as well. Yeah, give yourself a chance. Go down there and check out. Go to Hibner at some point. If you can't make it tomorrow, again, you get all the next week. Go down to Dillon Tennis Center and watch.

go down and watch, go down and watch some soccer as well. So opportunities there. I, Bach, have you watched the soccer match? I have not yet. See, this is, help me understand this. Help me understand. Is Hibner inconvenient? I don't think so.

It looks like a pretty darn good facility. It's a great facility. Good view of Lincoln? It is a great facility. I mean, you know, Big Ten soccer is still pretty good soccer. So what would be the excuse and reason why folks don't go to watch soccer? Husker soccer. I'm not sure if there's an excuse.

I mean, just, I don't know. Soccer's kind of growing in popularity in Lincoln, I would say, or at least it has been pretty steady. Obviously, with the World Cup and all that sort of stuff, you kind of get in the mood. So, yeah. I mean, wouldn't you, wouldn't there be some, some, benefit and perk to turning Nebraska women's soccer into what Nebraska women's volleyball has become? Oh, yeah.

I mean, wouldn't that help get it over the edge? Wouldn't that help move the needle? Wouldn't that help pad the coffers? Wouldn't that make it easier to recruit? It's a great facility, great resources. What would it take for Nebraska soccer, women's soccer, to become what volleyball is being that good? or chicken or egg, right? Does it get good and then the support comes or does the support come and that helps push it to elite steps?

I think I think if they were, yeah, they're on the top programs, I think people would start following on out there. It's usually what it takes to are Oscar fans. You know, I guess any fans in general, if you're good, they'll come. What would it take to turn the Dillon Tennis Center into a happening thing? I must go to because it holds, I want to say it holds a thousand people. I want to say, how tough is it to get a thousand Husker fans to Dillon Tennis Center? What, what you've been there?

What would it take? And I think they're moving the right direction. So I think, again, winning would be part of it. But I think a lot of it's just, I'm going to be completely honest. I think we've helped out quite a bit. But a lot of it's just exposure. I don't think people know necessarily these things are going on or the program. I think it's just more promotion probably would help.

I mean, if we said, if we made it public and said, okay, Husker fans, Husker fans, we need you to pack Dylan Tennyson or we need you to sell out Hibner. Wouldn't there be some benefit to corporations getting behind it and sending staff and sending employees and buying tickets and sharing them publicly. And would that help? Would that going through the school system? Maybe Lincoln Public Schools? Yeah.

Right? If you gave out vouchers to Lincoln Public School and sent it home with the kids and said, hey kids, you get to go for free. Mom and Dad have to buy a ticket. What I always say with tennis too is just like, I think if more people do it was free, they go. Like there's not a whole lot you can do for free anymore.

Well, this is what the text was said. Start with kids. kid friendly. I don't know that it could be any more kid friendly than soccer at Hibner or tennis at Dylan Tennyson. Bach, I mean, you brought your son. Yeah. Right? Good time.

You could dress it up. Yeah. I mean, I think Texas says local food trucks. But what would stop? I mean, I don't understand. What would stop the local food trucks from posting up? at Devaney Dylan Tennis Center,

Hibner. In their benefit? Like if everybody's legitimately connected and together that you want to pack Hibner. So, Google Hibner and tell me what the capacity is. Right? That, that, and I think Dillon Tennis Center is a thousand. And so here's the thing.

There is zero way. There's zero justification for they're not being a thousand Husker fans watching Husker tennis men's or women's. There just isn't. It's free. It's local. It's Huskers. It's often, it's Big Ten.

Like, if you love, if you're a Husker and you're a Husker fan, why would you not go support it for free? Tennis is free, right? They've got concessant stands and you going in there buying popcorn and a soda would help them incredibly. Right?

That's the mission, that's the purpose. Well, but tennis, listen, in case you... Bach, have you watched the U.S. Open? Uh-uh. Okay. So this particular tournament, it's so good. As a matter of fact, maybe the match of this decade

happened last night between Ben Shulton and Alcoran. Now, unfortunately, the best match never seen because it, you know, it was midnight. And it didn't, I don't think it finished until, you know, 3 o'clock in the morning, East Coast time. But that is a brilliant tournament. Americans in the semis for the U.S. title. Have we dropped that far off with tennis? Has tennis dropped off?

Maybe. I mean, it helped to have more American names involved, I think. Well, but you have. Yeah. Bach, bring up the U.S. Open women's bracket and tell me how many American women are in the quarters in semis. Well, I mean, in Texas, there's this, the elephant in the room is that people just aren't interested in soccer. But I was told that about all sports when I got to Lincoln, that nothing mattered except football. And, Bach, you were in those rooms with me when people said, we only want to hear about football.

We only want to talk about football. I said, that's crazy. That's crazy. Because then you're a football, you're a Husker football fan, but you're not a lot. a Husker fan. You're not a Husker athletics fan. You're not a Husker sports fans. You're not a university Nebraska fan. With all of the people who attend the University of Nebraska and who work for the University of Nebraska to tell me that you can't find a thousand people to show up to watch soccer or tennis, it's crazy. And I get it. Like it may not be your particular thing, but to tell me that

you wouldn't go to a thing that isn't there are concerts that aren't necessarily my thing that I go to there are things that I support here at the station it may not be my thing but it doesn't mean I can't support it because it's good for Lincoln good for the Huskers good for the people involved right like if we only work for the things that that intrigue us then we're not really about community right, which I think goes against what we say and believe Lincoln is. But what would it take to draw 1,000 people, pick

any Husker tennis event, any rivalry, any matchup, any weekend, any day. Pick one of them and show that you can show up with a thousand fans. What's the capacity for him? At 2,500. Okay. So are you, are you,

telling me that there aren't 25 Husker fans that could come out on any given night and support sellout Hibner for a soccer game? Is that is that is that is that is that is that is that the story we're telling? Is that the story we're telling? Tell me that there aren't 2,500 or let's say 2,000 young ladies in Lincoln, Nebraska who would love to come watch Husker soccer. Right? Because there's a soccer little league, right? Yeah. I don't think you could gather up all the soccer clubs. I think, right? Right? Yeah. I mean, I don't understand. I want to understand. I don't, I don't, I'm not telling you all how to live. I'm just asking a question.

I would sincerely like to know what it would take. I also think this. Why isn't Husker wrestling sold out? Every match. But I don't know. There's a winning program. There's a big fan base there. You're a top five program in the entire country. You have national champions all up and down the roster.

It's, again, a great venue, great coach. You love the culture, right? The kids are a great representative of the state of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska. Are those things all true? True? Yeah. And I know that women's wrestling draws,

like girls high school wrestling draws. The state wrestling tournament draws. So why is it that all of those people don't show up collectively for Nebraska wrestling? They're not charged $900 a ticket for wrestling. You can get general admission for Husker wrestling. I want to say it's 12 bucks, 15 bucks maybe.

Pick the, here's my thing. And it's going to be, it's, they don't want me getting with my mallet and getting on the soapbox drawn, driving this thing. But I would imagine this. Husker fans, my challenge to you is this. There will be one tennis match, men's and women's that you sell out the place. A thousand people show up. Mark it down.

Then there will be one, soccer match at Hibner where it's sold out and then one wrestling match where it's sold out. It should be every softball game is sold out and it should be that every baseball game is sold out. 90,000 people make a whole weekend out of coming to watch football. I'm just saying. I'm open to, I'm open to discussion, but I really need to figure out why that is. Just me.

Just me. We'll close it out. Set you up for Bach in the black shirt coming up.