Hill: Nebraska coach gets a chance to apologize for preseason comments about Las Vegas

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said what he said back in July and he can’t take it back.

It was unquestionably shortsighted and ill-advised even if he would argue it was more inartful than malicious.

But at least he’s acknowledging responsibility and offering a mea culpa rather than running from his comments or even worse, blaming the media for taking him out of context.

Rhule began the season by taking a shot at Las Vegas, but he is now back in the city to coach his Cornhuskers in Wednesday’s Las Vegas Bowl against No. 15 Utah at Allegiant Stadium.

He wasn’t about to make the same mistake in his return, especially right before diving into an extravagant spread Friday night that included a gourmet meal on an outdoor patio overlooking the Bellagio fountains in December, a uniquely Vegas experience that certainly wouldn’t be possible in Lincoln.

“Look, I didn’t mean it the way it was taken but it came off that way and I certainly understand the reaction,” Rhule said in front of a huge tub of massive and delectable-looking shrimp lit up just right by the neon on the Strip. “The Italian in me sometimes comes out and I have to live with that.”

Origin story

Rhule was being interviewed during Big Ten media days at Mandalay Bay when he was asked about the event’s location and stopped the interviewer, who was clearly expecting a jovial, benign response, in his tracks.

“I’ll be honest,” Rhule said at the time. “I don’t think college sports should be in Vegas. So, I wish (media day) was back in Indianapolis.

“But it’s nice.”

It was a completely out-of-line, antiquated and unnecessary cheap shot at a city that has emerged from whatever dark shadows ever did exist to a cosmopolitan metropolis quickly becoming the sports capital of the world.

Rhule says he meant it only in the context of Big Ten events, which he believes have shifted too far west from their roots to cater to the league’s westward expansion to the Pacific coast.

But it’s not what he said at the time.

The outrage was swift and decisive, including in this space on a Sunday in early August.

Rhule said he received a link from a friend who lives in Las Vegas to the words that eviscerated him and immediately thought he should have found a better way to make his point.

“I understood exactly where you were coming from,” he said of the column.

Changing tune

This week doesn’t mark his first time back in the city. Rhule jumped on a jet and flew to Las Vegas after his team beat Houston Christian 59-7 on Sept. 13 in time to watch Nebraska native and Huskers fan Terence Crawford beat Canelo Alvarez in the only boxing event at Allegiant Stadium’s brief history.

He has said it was the greatest sporting event he ever attended as a fan, even showing off his love for Vegas by revealing the wallpaper on his phone as a picture from that night.

Rhule also lists a dinner at Bavette’s as one of the best meals of his life. He saw Kenny Chesney at Sphere with UNLV coach Dan Mullen this summer. This week, he’s enjoying the flavor of the city provided by the Las Vegas Bowl’s host committee to experience even more of what it has to offer.

He’s taking his team to the Raiders game against the Giants on Sunday. His wife got him tickets to see the Backstreet Boys at Sphere with her.

He may be seeking a marketing role with the LVCVA by the time he’s done.

“It’s hospitality and tourism done right,” Rhule said of Las Vegas. “It’s sports done right. Having the chance to show our players this is really cool. We’ve got kids from one-stoplight towns in Nebraska. We’ve got kids from Florida. We’ve got kids from all over and to be able to bring them here and have this experience is just unbelievable. And my own kids. My wife and kids are here and I don’t even know if I’ll see them the entire week. So it’s really, really cool.

“(The Las Vegas Bowl) is great to be a part of and I couldn’t be more grateful. When the committee called with a bowl invite, I was apologetic for what I said. But it was not really what I meant.”

And that’s before he even got the chance to dig in to the shrimp.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.