The University of Nebraska at Omaha will pay players next year

The University of Nebraska at Omaha announced Friday that it will opt in to the House settlement agreement for the next academic year.

Omaha had chosen not to participate this year in the House settlement, which allows athletes to receive direct compensation for playing college sports.

But the school said in a press release that waiting a year allowed its athletic department to succeed in the revenue-sharing era.

In a released statement, Omaha Athletic Director Adrian Dowell said, “Opting in to and efficiently executing the terms of the House settlement gives Omaha Athletics a competitive edge and aligns us with our conference and national peers. This is another defining moment to position our program for sustainable success.”

Also, UNO said the decision is a part of a long-term plan to “distribute education-related benefits” or “Alston Awards,” “increase the amount of scholarships and cost-of-attendance stipends for select revenue sports” and “solidify institutional and third-party NIL logistics with strategic partners.” Those partners include the Omaha Bull Market Collective, among others.

The other public Division I school in the state recently announced it would go a different route. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletic department was approved for a $10 million name, image and likeness investment from its multimedia rights partner, Playfly Sports Properties, LLC.

Football coach Matt Rhule said that investment, along with the winding down of the 1890 Nebraska NIL collective, was due to a “different model” under the House settlement terms and rules.