LINCOLN, NEB. ? Minutes after being named the new athletic director at the University of Nebraska on Friday, Steve Pederson started mending fences with football fans who felt alienated by his predecessor, Bill Byrne.

“We have the greatest fans in the world at Nebraska, but I want to remind you that our historic success is the result of 1.7 million Nebraskans playing as one,” he said.

Byrne, who recently left to become athletic director at Texas A&M, ruffled feathers this fall when he hinted he paid attention only to “boosters of substance and influence” when it came to making decisions.

“All our fans are all our fans,” Pederson said. “There will be fans that cannot afford sometimes to come to games — that doesn’t make them any less of a fan.”

Pederson, who was an associate athletic director at Nebraska from 1994-96, starts at NU on Jan. 1. He has been the athletic director at Pittsburgh since 1996.