Nick Haberer didn’t believe his parents.
But Wil and Raelene were totally serious when they filled their youngest son in on the plan for their next great adventure.
First, they’d sell their house, on the beach along Australia’s beautiful Sunshine Coast just north of Brisbane. Then they’d use the proceeds to fast-track retirement and head to the United States to be with Nick, a punter who transferred to Vanderbilt for his final season of college football.
“He was like, ‘Oh yeah. Right. Whatever,’” Raelene said of Nick’s immediate reaction. “We were like, ‘No, we’re serious. We think we’re gonna do all of these things. We’re going to watch you from start to finish.’”
Nick, 24, has been playing college football since 2021, when he signed with Washington State. But before Vanderbilt hosted Charleston Southern in Week 1, mum and dad hadn’t seen their boy play in almost two years. Selling the house would allow them the financial freedom to attend every game this season — and from the moment Wil and Raelene first started discussing the plan, they knew they didn’t want to miss a second of their son’s last season.
“So yeah,” Raelene said enthusiastically of life in Nashville. “Here we are.”
The Haberers sold their house in June and made their way to the United States last month via the ESTA program, which allows eligible travelers to stay for 90 days without a visa. To remain in compliance, they’ll return to Australia during Vanderbilt’s idle week on Oct. 11, before planning to head right back to living their best SEC life in Nashville.
They’ll be in the stands tonight to watch Vanderbilt play at South Carolina and they’ve already booked their accommodations for the Commodores’ remaining road trips, to Alabama next month and Texas and Tennessee in November. They’re living under the same roof as Nick and his girlfriend, Josie, near Vanderbilt’s campus, the four of them getting along swimmingly.
Nick Haberer transferred to Vanderbilt for his final season of eligibility. (Vanderbilt Athletics)
When Raelene isn’t making Nick her signature omelette, his favorite, or preparing other meals, she and Wil have enjoyed every second of learning about life in Nashville. They made a trip to Music City during the summer to check out the town and make sure they could see themselves being comfortable there. Three months later, both already have cowboy boots, and Wil has a favorite spot for brisket (Martin’s BBQ). Josie has served as their tour guide for trips downtown to Broadway — “I think it was a little bit intimidating for my beautiful wife,” Wil said — and last weekend, they discovered Buc-ee’s en route to Vanderbilt’s game at Virginia Tech.
“What an experience that was for us,” Wil said, still in awe of the popular gas station.
“Wow,” Raelene followed. “It was the best.”
The Haberers had a tough time when Nick left Australia for Washington State in 2021, even though they knew how excited he was for the opportunity to play college football and what it could do for his future. Nick grew up playing Australian Rules Football, which includes both kicking and handballing, and by his senior year of high school was playing at the Brisbane Lions Academy in the Australian Football League, the sport’s most prestigious organization. But when his career stalled out, he took a job as a landscaper. Around that same time, Raelene told her son about a fellow Aussie she knew who came to the United States to play college baseball and had mentioned he’d seen a trend of Australian punters coming to the States to play college football.
Haberer and his family looked up college football on the internet, and got a taste of the mayhem when the first video they watched was of Virginia Tech’s iconic “Enter Sandman” entrance at Lane Stadium, which the family experienced in person last week
“We’d never see anything like it,” Wil said. “It was just mad, all these people jumping around singing Metallica songs. We just couldn’t believe how it was actually real.”
Nick then started working with Prokick Australia, a program aimed at training kickers to play American football collegiately and professionally. Nathan Chapman and Johnny Smith, who run the program, told Haberer that if he stuck with them, they’d have him linked up with a college in six months. Haberer, who hadn’t yet gone to university in Australia, did just that and landed an offer from Washington State.
Raelene was devastated when she and Wil couldn’t fly with their son to the U.S. in 2021 to help him get settled in, due to COVID-19 restrictions in Australia at the time. So Nick flew by himself on a United Airlines flight that Wil guessed contained more packages than humans. It took him about 45 hours to get to Pullman. That November, Wil and Raelene got to see him punt for the first time, when Washington State played at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium, quite the introduction to the sport for the proud parents. Raelene can remember bawling as she ran down the stadium steps toward Nick for a hug, having not seen her son in almost a year.
“I get teary just thinking about it,” she said.
The Haberers, who also have an older son in Australia, didn’t get to visit Nick or see him play in 2022 due to work commitments (Wil worked in business development, Raelene in administration). Their next visit was in November 2023 to catch a home game versus Colorado and the Apple Cup on the road against Washington in Seattle. Nick came home every summer to spend time with his family, and in August 2024, Wil and Raelene flew to Washington to support him through a back injury. The injury limited Nick to four games in 2024, none of which his parents saw.
Earlier this week, Nick joked on social media about the irony of playing a game at Virginia Tech, where it all came full circle for his family after watching that video together, and not punting a single time in Vanderbilt’s 44-20 victory. Quarterback Diego Pavia apologized for throwing a first-quarter interception, taking away the one time when Nick might have punted.
Don’t apologize mate it was a great game
— Nick Haberer (@haberer_nick) September 7, 2025
“After the game … (my parents) met coach (Clark) Lea for the first time and it was super funny because he’s like, ‘Well, I’m glad you’re here, but I’m sorry you didn’t get to see your son get on the field,’” Nick said. “We were all having a laugh about it.”
But Nick didn’t mind — and neither did mum and dad. Plus, Nick is also the team’s holder, so there were plenty of chances to get a glimpse of him on the field while celebrating Vanderbilt’s six touchdowns.
“As parents, you want to get in for the ride and enjoy every aspect of it because it’s just incredible,” Wil said. “There’s nothing like it.”
Should Nick play in the NFL, the Haberers said they’d look into getting a longer visa. Australia will always be home, and that’s where they plan to settle again long-term. But for now, they’re enjoying the perfectly wacky ride that is life in college football.
“We have such a special relationship, me and my parents, and with my brother back home, as well,” Nick said. “We just have a really tight-knit family and, obviously, it’s been really hard to be away from them for so long. It’s just so special to have them here.
“Nothing beats the support network that you have with your family and the unconditional love they have for ya. It’s just super special and helps me play with a clear mind knowing that I have the people that love me the most in my corner.”
(Top photo: Courtesy of The Haberer family)
