LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska will be the first school in the Big Ten to offer a Spanish-language radio broadcast for a football game when the Cornhuskers play Northwestern on Saturday, and the hope is such broadcasts become a regular part of the team’s media offering in coming seasons.
The state of Nebraska, by percentage, has one of the higher Hispanic populations in the Big Ten footprint, and Husker Sports Network general manager David Witty said affiliates have told him there is demand for a Spanish-language broadcast.
That’s no surprise to coach Scott Frost, who grew up in central Nebraska.
“I think there are a lot of residents in Nebraska where Spanish is their first language,” he said. “Nebraska’s one team, one heartbeat; and one state, one heartbeat. I think it’s great that we are going to broadcast the game so that every Nebraska fan can enjoy it.”
The Associated Press found eight power conference teams that have all or some games carried in Spanish on radio or digital platforms: Kansas, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and TCU.
Nebraska had an estimated Hispanic population of 216,000 in 2018, according to the Census Bureau, or 11% of the 1.9 million total. The Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska-Omaha estimates the number of Hispanics in Nebraska will double by 2040 and account for 20% of the total.
Notes: The Spanish broadcast will be available for free on Huskers.com and the Huskers app and will be carried over the air on Lobo 97.7 FM serving Omaha, Lincoln and eastern Nebraska and Le Grand 93.3 FM serving Grand Island and central Nebraska.
