List of Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic directors

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The Nebraska Cornhuskers, which is often abbreviated to Huskers, are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Division I. Nebraska's Department of Athletics is overseen by an athletic director who is hired by the chancellor. Nebraska has had fifteen full-time athletic directors since 1920, and the current athletic director is Trev Alberts, who was appointed on July 14, 2021.[1]

In its earliest days, the Nebraska Department of Athletics had no central figure serving as the head of the department or "athletic director," and the history of how this position developed is unclear. Early on, the head of the athletics department often had only a partial or part-time role and had other titles and responsibilities. The Athletics Department was governed by a board, called the "Athletic Board," comprised usually of faculty members and other university officials. Sometimes, the person serving as the effective head of the Athletics Department served on this board and other times he did not. The first few heads of the Athletics Department had the title "Athletics Manager," which was held first by Raymond G. Clapp, a head basketball coach and professor of physical education.[2]

The first individual to hold the title "athletic director" was E. J. Stewart, who served from 1916 to 1919, while also serving as the head men's basketball coach and the head football coach for part of his tenure.[3] However, he is not considered the "first" athletic director because his position was not considered a full-time administrative position. The first head of the Athletics Department to have a "full-time" position as designated by the Board of Regents was Fred Luehring, who held the position from 1920 to 1922, and as such, the university considers him to be its first athletic director.[4]

Many of Nebraska's athletic directors have simultaneously served as the coaches of various teams, such as the football, basketball, baseball, or even swimming teams. The majority of athletic directors who also served simultaneously or formerly as coaches were from the football team. These included E. J. Stewart, Fred Dawson, Dana X. Bible, Biff Jones, Glenn Presnell, Adolph J. Lewandowski, George Clark, Bob Devaney, and Tom Osborne. The longest serving athletic director at Nebraska was Bob Devaney, who served for 25 years before retiring in 1992.

List of athletic directors[]

No. Athletic director[A 1] Tenure Other positions held at Nebraska
[A 2] 1902–1905 Head men's basketball coach (1903–1909); professor of physical education[5]
[A 2] 1905–1911
Ewald O. Stiehm[A 3] 1911–1915 Head football coach (1911–1915); head men's basketball coach (1911–1915)
[A 2] 1914–1918
E. J. Stewart[A 4] 1916–1919 Head football coach (1916–1917); head men's basketball coach (1916–1919)
† [6] 1919 President of the athletic board; professor of English
† 1919–1920 Professor of Greek language and literature;[7] provost[8]
1 Fred Luehring[A 5] 1920–1922 Head swimming coach (1921–1922)
2 Fred Dawson 1922–1925 Head football coach (1921–1924)
† 1925–1928 Assistant athletic director (1923–1925)[4]
3 1928–1932
4 Dana X. Bible 1932–1936 Head football coach (1929–1936)
5 Biff Jones 1937–1942 Head football coach (1937–1941)
† Glenn Presnell 1942 Head Football Coach (1942)
6 Adolph J. Lewandowski 1942–1947 Assistant football coach (1937–1942); head football coach (1943–1944); head men's basketball coach (1940–1945); head baseball coach (1942)
7 George Clark 1948–1953 Head football coach (1945, 1948)
† Adolph J. Lewandowski 1953–1954 Athletic business manager;[9] Previous athletic director
8 Bill Orwig 1954–1961
‡ 1961–1962 Dean of the College of Business Administration[10]
‡ 1961–1962 University comptroller[11]
9 Tippy Dye 1962–1967
10 Bob Devaney 1967–1992 Head football coach (1962–1972); athletic director emeritus (1992–1996)[12]
11 Bill Byrne 1992–2002
† [13] 2002 Senior associate athletic director for external operations[14]
12 Steve Pederson 2003–2007 Associate athletic director for football operations (1994–1996); Football recruiting coordinator and administrative assistant (1982–1986)[15]
† Tom Osborne[16] 2007
13 Tom Osborne[17] 2007–2013 Head football coach (1973–1997); assistant athletic director (1979–1998)[18]
14 2013–2017
† Dave Rimington[19] 2017
15 Bill Moos 2017–2021
† 2021 Senior deputy athletic director for external relations[20]
16 Trev Alberts[1] 2021–present

† Interim or acting athletic director

‡ Interim athletic co-director

Notes[]

  1. ^ The earliest history of the management of the Nebraska athletic department is unclear. Many early athletic directors only had partial or part-time roles and had other titles and responsibilities.
  2. ^ a b c These individuals were given the title "athletic manager" by the university in the days before the university appointed an official "athletic director."
  3. ^ Although Ewald Stiehm was never recorded to have held the title of "athletic manager" or "athletic director" at the University of Nebraska, in the years 1912 and 1913, the Cornhusker yearbook lists no head of the athletic department, while Ewald Stiehm, as the "all-year coach" seems to be the de facto head of the department.
  4. ^ E. J. Stewart was the first individual to hold the title "athletic director," while also serving as the head men's basketball coach and the head football coach for part of his tenure. However, the university does not consider him the "first" athletic director because his position was not considered a full-time administrative position.
  5. ^ Fred Luehring was the first head of the Athletics Department to have a "full-time" position as designated by the Board of Regents, and as such, the university considers him to be its first athletic director.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Sam McKewon (July 14, 2021). "Nebraska hires UNO A.D., ex-Husker Trev Alberts as athletic director". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  2. ^ Leon Nyberg (June 20, 1961). "NU History Boasts 15 Athletic Directors". Daily Nebraskan. Nebraska Newspapers. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "1919 Cornhusker, University of Nebraska Yearbook". Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. p. 252. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "1926 Cornhusker, University of Nebraska Yearbook". Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. p. 437. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "1906 Sombrero, University of Nebraska Yearbook". Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. p. 17. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "1919 Cornhusker, University of Nebraska Yearbook". Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. p. 268. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  7. ^ Ward W. Briggs, Jr. "LEES, James Thomas". Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  8. ^ "1920 Cornhusker, University of Nebraska Yearbook". Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. p. 343. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  9. ^ "Potsy Clark New Director of Athletics". Daily Nebraskan. Nebraska Newspapers. Mar 9, 1948. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  10. ^ "1961 Cornhusker, University of Nebraska Yearbook". Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. p. 71. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "1961 Cornhusker, University of Nebraska Yearbook". Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. p. 24. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  12. ^ NU Athletic Communications (July 1, 2007). "Hall of Fame Coach Bob Devaney". University of Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Robin Washut (Dec 13, 2002). "Perlman names interim athletic director". Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  14. ^ Vince Kuppig (Dec 4, 2002). "Byrne says goodbye to Cornhusker State with no regrets". Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Huskers hire Steve Pederson". McCook Daily Gazette. April 14, 1994. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  16. ^ Johnny Perez (Oct 17, 2007). "Osborne fills position as interim athletic director". Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Osborne accepts AD position". Daily Nebraskan. Dec 19, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "Tom Osborne's profile". Nebraska Cornhuskers. 1997. Archived from the original on October 8, 1999. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  19. ^ Grace Harmon (Sep 26, 2017). "Former Husker football star Dave Rimington hired as interim athletic director". Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  20. ^ "Bill Moos out as University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Director". KETV. June 25, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
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