Nebraska Football Balloons Officially Return to Memorial Stadium

The balloons are back.

Following Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen’s announcement last weekend, the official Huskers X account shared another video announcing the balloons, ending with the words “9/7/24,” the date of Saturday’s game against the Colorado Buffaloes.

Nebraska Athletics later released a statement confirming the news that the balloons would be returning to Memorial Stadium, albeit on a non-permanent basis:

“Saturday’s football game against Colorado and the events surrounding the weekend have been anticipated by Huskers fans for months. In celebration of the rich tradition between these two schools and in honor of our 1994 national championship team, Nebraska Athletics will bring back the Memorial Stadium tradition of releasing balloons after the Huskers’ first touchdown. The red balloons will be distributed free of charge in and around Memorial Stadium by Husker Athletics staff. We will consider bringing back the balloons for select special occasions in the future.”

Quick note: the official statement says “after the Huskers’ first touchdown,” not field goal. Remember this Saturday and the future.

The balloon release on Saturday will be the first time in more than two years that the tradition will take place. Former Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts ended the practice in 2022, citing a global helium shortage.

“While we continue to be concerned about the environmental impact of balloons, the reality is that there are challenges in sourcing helium these days, and some of the production is really difficult and hard to get,” Alberts said on a May 2022 episode of “Sports Nightly.” “And that’s why the university has approached us with the request that we, as a university, need helium for medical purposes at (University of Nebraska Medical Center) in Omaha. And that’s why this year, for the first time ever, we will not be providing red balloons to Memorial Stadium.”

As a result, some have tried to come up with new traditions to replace the landing balloons. Nebraska Cornhuskers in SI Dave Feit presented some “interesting” options:

• Stadium staff bring a bottle of schnapps or Fireball to each row. Take a sip and pass it around.
• The player who scores the first touchdown in the game receives a NIL contract with the Arbor Day Foundation. They plant a tree on the player’s behalf.
• The Viener Schlinger is rebuilt into a confetti cannon.
• Fans bring back an old tradition and throw oranges onto the pitch.
• A video animation of thousands of balloons flying is shown on the screens, and at the end a message about no littering appears. Fans pat each other on the back, throwing empty plastic soda bottles and pizza boxes on the ground in front of them.
• Seven ceremonial balloons are released, but members of the NU shooting team do not allow them to leave the stadium.
• When Nebraska scores a goal, baskets of seed corn are shot into the sky from the four corners of the stadium.
• And many more.

But now Alberts is in College Station, and Dannen is in charge in Lincoln. After quickly solidifying the relationship between the athletic department and the NIL affiliate that is 1890, Dannen is dominating the public relations aspect of his work with Huskers fans, reviving a tradition that many enjoyed even if they never held a balloon at Memorial Stadium.

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