Nebraska’s Tunnel Walk, like its football program, received an offseason makeover. Both coach Scott Frost and an updated version of the program’s famed pregame entrance to the field will make debuts Saturday night against Akron. What exactly is in store for the new-look team entrance, in the past set to The Alan Parsons Project’s "Sirius" as the team makes its way out of the locker room, across the North Stadium end zone concourse past scores of fans and out the northwest tunnel on to the field? Well, there will be something of a surprise element. But both Frost and NU athletic director Bill Moos are excited. “There will be pieces of the Tunnel Walk that will be traditional and have been part of our history through many, many years,” Moos said Thursday. “Then there will be some things that might be more appealing to the 18-, 19-, 20-year-old player. I think it will be a tasteful combination. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} “I, of course, haven’t seen it yet, so it will be my first time, too.”<doc-sep>Shot Kleen got a handshake from Bill Moos and wiped his brow in mock relief. Nebraska’s assistant athletic director for HuskerVision had just watched a new Tunnel Walk — the most anticipated Tunnel Walk in years — go off without a hitch. Memorial Stadium was in full-throat with an electricity that hadn’t been felt in a long time and wouldn’t be felt again for at least 10 more minutes, when lightning began to flash around downtown Lincoln. Eventually, it ended up perhaps being the most memorable part of a night that ended after a delay of nearly three hours before the game between Nebraska and Akron was canceled. Like Scott Frost’s football program, the video blended Husker tradition with all the modern trimmings in an effort to get 90,000 fans even more revved up than they already were. The video opened with Tom Osborne, his voice bringing those in full-throat to near silence. “It started,” Osborne said, "when Coach Devaney created a spark that ignited a flame in the heart of Lincoln.” Then it was Grant Wistrom on the big screen, saying “Coach Osborne turned that flame into an inferno,” which had the effect you might imagine.<doc-sep>As the first Nebraska football game of the season inches closer and closer, the Athletic Department sent out a press release itemizing the numerous game-day experience upgrades for those visiting Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Lighting at Memorial Stadium It has been a long time coming but they have replaced the original permanent lights (installed in 1999) with new LED lighting above the East and West Stadiums. Better wear your sunglasses at night. The AD says “Not only do the lights provide a brighter playing field at Memorial Stadium, but they will also provide the opportunity for additional game presentation opportunities.” Nebraska Tunnel Walk My family has had season tickets in North Stadium since like 1962 so I have been caught under North Stadium during the tunnel walk numerous times. However, the athletic department said that fans lining up under North Stadium during the tunnel walk should see will see new lighting and video features in the Tunnel Walk area. Oh. So they’re talking about the fans that are down by where the players come out and not about the fans who get stuck at the bottelneck in North Stadium. North Stadium Improvements But wait...there’s more “Nebraska fans in the North Stadium will find increased concessions and restrooms options on the upper concourse. The improvements increased the number of restrooms and concession windows available in the North Stadium by approximately 33 percent.” Alleluia! They obviously read my article I posted in February about what I would do if I was King. If you are in North Stadium and in row 67 then it actually take a good five minute walk (that is if there is nobody in your way) to get to the nearest bathroom. Good on them. North Stadium is getting some love! Husker Nation Pavilion Remember when there used to be kids running around on the track right outside North Stadium? South Stadium people: “Huh? No we would never associate with North Stadium people.” North Stadium people: “Is that a civil war reference?” South Stadium people: “On guard!” Well it looks like all that fun is coming back: “The Husker Nation Pavilion will return to its original location on the Ed Weir Track, and as always is free to the public. The primary entrance to the Husker Nation Pavilion will be on the South side of Ed Weir Stadium near the columns. The Husker Nation Pavilion features various forms of family fun and games for kids of all ages. Inflatable games (weather permitting) will be a regular feature, including an obstacle course, quarterback toss, hoops tic-tac-toe, hoops hotshot, and baseball toss. Face painting will also be available. Fans may sit in the Ed Weir Track and Field Stadium and have the opportunity to meet friends before the game or watch a game on the Ed Weir video board. Throughout the day, the video board will show other games of interest from around the country. For the season opener against Akron on Saturday, the HNP will open five hours prior to kickoff at 2 p.m. For the remainder of the season, the Pavilion will open three hours before kickoff.” IMG Husker Sports Network Pre-Game Show Also the IMG Husker Sports Network pre-game show will be returning to the Pavillion. It will be located in the SE corner near the Coliseum. “Husker Sports Network personalities and guests will be on site for the pre-game show up until one hour before kickoff.” Unity Walk Didn’t Bo Pelini start this? Well it does have the word “Unity” in it so Scott Frost is probably a fan. I have never personally be there for the Unity Walk. Is it pretty cool? Do the players like it? “The Nebraska football team will arrive at Memorial Stadium a little more than two hours before home games (approximately 4:50-4:55 p.m. this Saturday) and fans are encouraged to welcome the team to the stadium. The team will arrive on the East side of Memorial Stadium and enter the stadium at Gate 20.” Osborne Athletic Complex Lobby Expect to see a bunch of pictures of trophies on facebook on Saturday. I actually might have to check this out. Might. “The Osborne Athletic Complex lobby will once again open four hours before kickoff and remain open until one hour before kickoff. Fans will see a remodeled Osborne Complex lobby that includes more prominent displays for Nebraska’s five national championship trophies, three Heisman trophies and other major national awards.” POW/MIA Chair At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2018, the world will mark the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the hostilities of World War I. To commemorate this event, Memorial Stadium has designated a special POW/MIA chair. Each game this season, a decorated veteran of U.S. military service will take his or her post next to this unoccupied chair in honor of the more than 800 Nebraskans lost in combat, but whose fate remains “UNKNOWN.” The chair is located in North Memorial Stadium Section 33, Row 18. Nebraska will salute all Veteran’s and active military at the Nov. 10 football vs. Illinois when there will be special recognition for the 100th anniversary. Well this is very cool. Commercial Break Clocks This might be my favorite upgrade and it was so simple. How come it took so long? I still think they should figure out a way to show other games during the breaks instead of the University infomercials. A clock showing the time remaining in each media break will now be visible in Memorial Stadium. The new feature will allow fans to know when game action will resume on the field. Husker App Do you want an app that includes free audio of the Husker Sports network game-day broadcast, as well as live stats? Do you want to receive notifications with score updates and other important information? Do you want a map of Nebraska’s athletic facilities with parking, gate and concession information? Well lucky, you there is an App for that. “Nebraska Athletics debuted a new Husker App for mobile devices earlier this month, which is designed to assist Husker fans on game day at all NU athletic venues.” Captioning<doc-sep>Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos met with media on Thursday morning ahead of the season-opener against Akron. During the conversation, Moos hit on a number of topics of note in the Big Ten, and about the football program. Here’s a quick rundown of what Moos discussed: Moos said he was pleased with the recent Big Ten scheduling announcement that came out on Wednesday. Nebraska will play Michigan each of the four seasons from 2022-25, and Moos confirmed that those matchups were chosen by random draw. Moos said a Big Ten official drew team names from two boxes to make the matchups. Moos said the drawing took place this summer. “When Scott and I really dissected the schedule and what we’ve been doing since we joined the Big Ten and where it was going, it became quite apparent that the so-called traditional football powerhouses were playing each other a lot more than anybody else,” Moos said. “I respect that. When I brought it to the attention of the commissioner and my colleagues in a meeting in Phoenix last spring, I said, ‘I understand how that was designed to attract TV audiences, and also to address the strength of schedule piece of the playoff system.’ What ended up happening was we were beating each other up and sliding out of potentially not getting in that final four. I felt, and I think I convinced my peers that we needed to take another look at it and for something that’s a little more fair.” Moos said he’s not a particularly big fan of night games like Nebraska will play this weekend against Akron. He said that he understands the need for exposure, but said it makes for a long day. “It’s a 14-hour day for the old AD,” Moos said. “I’m an early riser anyways. That’s the ranch kid in me.” Moos hinted that there will be changes made to the Tunnel Walk, though he didn’t get into specifics. Moos said he hasn’t seen the latest changes to the Tunnel Walk, but said that it will appeal to Husker fans of various ages. Nebraska has already announced that lights will be added to the tunnel leading to Memorial Stadium, and the gates leading to the field have been replaced over the summer. “It really came from the football end,” Moos said of the changes. “I certainly bought into it. it kind of guys with our theme, of honor the past, live the present, create the future. There will be pieces of the Tunnel Walk that are traditional and have been part of our history through many, many years and there will be some things that might be more appealing to that 18, 19, 20-year-old player. I think it will be a tasteful combination. “I don’t know the music. I think there will be some of the old and some of the new.” Moos said college sports “haven’t seen the end of the transfer changes.” Nebraska has had a number of players transfer since Frost took over at Nebraska. The latest, quarterback Tristan Gebbia, will transfer to Oregon State, which hasn’t yet started classes because it is on the quarters system. “We’re already seeing somewhat of a disadvantage of quarter schools versus semester schools,” Moos said, speaking generally. Nebraska will wear an alternate jersey this year, Moos announced. He said Nebraska will wear an alternate uniform for its game that falls closest to Veterans Day. That would be the Huskers’ home matchup with Illinois on Nov. 10.<doc-sep>
Memorial Stadium was at least electric prior to kickoff. Plenty of newsprint and bandwidth had been spilled and chewed up in the offseason about whether there would be changes to the Tunnel Walk. On Saturday, Husker fans finally got their answer. The Tunnel Walk began with legendary coach Tom Osborne kicking off a cast of Huskers narrating a nod to the past. Former players who spoke on the video included Grant Wistrom and Joel Makovicka, before cutting to captains Jerald Foster and Stanley Morgan Jr. Scott Frost finished off the video before the cameras cut to the Husker locker room. The big question was whether Nebraska would keep Alan Parsons Project’s “Sirius” as the Tunnel Walk music. Instead, Nebraska went with “Jungle” by X Ambassadors as the Huskers walked out. Earlier in the week, Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos said the newly designed Tunnel Walk would check boxes for fans of all ages. “It really came from the football end,” Moos said of the changes. “I certainly bought into it. it kind of guys with our theme, of honor the past, live the present, create the future. There will be pieces of the Tunnel Walk that are traditional and have been part of our history through many, many years and there will be some things that might be more appealing to that 18, 19, 20-year-old player. I think it will be a tasteful combination. “I don’t know the music. I think there will be some of the old and some of the new.” In addition to the musical change, Nebraska also debuted a new gate in the northwest corner of the stadium, as well as lighting around the gates as the team ran out. Earlier in the spring, Frost addressed potential changes to the Tunnel Walk in an interview on Sports Nightly. “I think the Tunnel Walk is a great tradition,” Frost said. “It's been around since I was in school, so it's pretty special when the team comes out of the tunnel," Frost said. "There's talk about changing it occasionally and seeing if there's a special theme for the game, if we can match it to that. There's talk of keeping it the same, and there's talk of having a fresh new one every time we come out for a game. So I don't know if a decision has been made on that. "To me, the Tunnel Walk is more about the players coming out and being greeted by the fans and saluting the fans than it is the song that is playing. But I think a lot of smart people will put their heads together and figure out the best direction for that." Check out video of the Tunnel Walk below.