UNO Maverick Athletics

[Uffda]

are you sure he had a choice or for that matter even knew it was happening? Sounds like Buck was hiding a bit from everyone.

[HskrFanMike]

Herbster knew what was going on, but he reported to Buck, so his hands were tied. Your boss tells you to do something, what are your options?

On the good news front at UNO, hockey season ticket sales are up this year. With Scott Parse returning to take another shot at winning the Hobey Baker award, this could be a great year for the Mavs!

[Brad]

are you sure he had a choice or for that matter even knew it was happening? Sounds like Buck was hiding a bit from everyone.

From reports on the radio yes he did know. According to Travis Justice, Delek hired him because he was good at downsizeing Athletic Departments.

[Brad]

$1 million pledged to UNO athletics

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=163 ... nd=8402154

A longtime booster has pledged to donate $1 million to the University of Nebraska at Omaha athletic department as it tries to end its financial woes.

Robert Kruger and his wife, Marcia, decided to make the donation after a summer of controversy that began with the layoffs of athletic department employees and ended with the resignation of UNO Chancellor Nancy Belck.

[Brad]

Why there is a new topic started.......

But back to this one

Mike Kemp is leaving the door open to the possibility of being UNO Athletic Director.  He was just on The Travis Justice Program.

[Stargazer]

D'Shawn will love this... the new 'University of Omaha' Maverick football helmet...




http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=38&u_sid=2316633

[the1wags]

That's freakin sweet! Good call UNO!

[DTO Luv]

Those are some cool helmets. I like the colors.

[Coyote]

That is nice! At first I thought it was a rip off of Oregon's helmet but UNO's is much better:

[Brad]

Just another step closer to Nebraska State or Omaha University!!!

Those do look nice

[DTO Luv]

I wonder if unl would be so unwilling to share the "Nebraska" name that they would prefer UNO be Omaha University.

[HskrFanMike]

Hockey coach Mike Kemp and former Iowa State Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde are among five finalists for athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Each candidate will visit the campus for two days of interviews and meetings sometime after March 18.

"There were good candidates who were qualified who didn't make it this far," said John Langan, dean of the UNO College of Education and chairman of the search committee.

Like Van De Velde, the other finalists are, or most recently have been, at Division I schools. They are Cliff Dochterman, senior associate athletic director at California-Riverside; David Miller, former associate athletic director at Southern Methodist University; and William Weidner, former deputy athletic director at Central Florida.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... id=2343684

[GaryFL]

William Weidner, former deputy athletic director at Central Florida.

Bit of advice: if UNO Athletics has been having cash problems, for God's sake don't hire anyone from UCF. That place spends money like a drunken sailor in a whorehouse that takes American Express.

[HskrFanMike]

William Weidner, former deputy athletic director at Central Florida.

Bit of advice: if UNO Athletics has been having cash problems, for God's sake don't hire anyone from UCF. That place spends money like a drunken sailor in a whorehouse that takes American Express.

Sounds like a destination for Jim Buck and Nancy Belck!  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[Hellenistic Kshatriya]

They're having each of the AD candidates do a session with any boosters who are interested in meeting them and asking some questions.  Tonight was David Miller.  I was fairly impressed.  He has a good background of moving up starting at Air Force (where he got to help with D-1 hockey some), and then Truman State as an assistant AD.  Then went to Ohio as an Assistant AD and then on to Southern Methodist.  He focused a lot on that the student athletes are of the most importance and that above all we need to focus on providing them with a great experience.  He's from SW Iowa, and said this is not a stepping stone for him, it's where he'd want to end up.  

Student attendance and support hasn't been the greatest.  We are finally starting to fight for a student section at hockey, but most everything else is terrible.  I was there with 3 other students and he did mention the need to get all students involved, getting them active in supporting the teams and having fun.  Also said this will help attendance and the atmosphere.   Then after the session he came up and told us 4 that he appreciated our involvement, and that whether or not he was hired as AD, he wanted us to try and get involved and help make this program grow.  I thought that was pretty impressive because as measly students, I didn't expect that.  I have a feeling Kemp is still the leading man, but I really liked Miller and I think he would do a great job.[/list]

[Brad]

Kemp withdrew his name today for AD... "Not fair to team"

[Brad]

Former Athletic Director on Big Sports 590 right now.

[Brad]

UNO hires John Christensen as new Chancellor.

So much for UNO ever becoming anything.....  So much for UNO growing.... So much for UNO moving out of division 2....

WHAT A HUGE SETBACK!

[Uffda]

WHAT A HUGE SETBACK!

Since not sure who this person is or why you feel that way could you clarify?

[Brad]

John Christensen was the interim Chancellor, that was hired today as the permanent Chancellor, who has made fairly short sighted comments about sports in the past.

I wanted a builder, a visionary, and fresh blood in the program.

[Stargazer]

How do we know he's not a visionary?  He's obviously ambitious... otherwise he wouldn't have made the huge career leaps he's made.

Personally, I'd rather UNO not be just another stepping stone for an outsider.

Let's give the new guy a shot.

[Uffda]

who has made fairly short sighted comments about sports in the past.

thanks for that information.

what kind of comments did he make?

[HskrFanMike]

I'm not sure I've heard those comments either, unless you are referring to staying division 2 for the time being.  Of course, most people who have looked at UNO athletics have said the same thing, as it's going to take time for UNO to unwind the damage done by Belck and Buck.

[Brad]

what kind of comments did he make?

He said that D2 was a good fit for UNO, UNO just needs to find the right D2 confrence for them.

He said the UNO needs to build a small arena at Chili Greens, 5 or 6 thousand.  Thats way too small.  He would rather shrink the program instead of try to grow it.

[Uffda]

Thanks for those.

Well based on what the old AD said

Some have suggested that UNO should be following its former conference brethren - including Northern Colorado, North Dakota State and South Dakota State - into Division I. Herbster said that discussion is premature.  "We could go into a seven-part series on why, but right now it's not in the best interest of the program," Herbster said. "It's having a hard time financially in Division II, let alone trying to go Division I."

Division II might be the best place for the immediate future.

But athletics is only a small part of a college's offerings and there was an article in the paper yesterday and it sounds like he has some good ideas to improve UNO.

Among his proposals:

• Recruit more students whose parents never attended college, more transfer students and more students from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds.

Christensen also is "onboard" with UNO's aggressive marketing campaign and proposals to offer more classes to nontraditional students over the Internet, said David Cicotello, the university's director of new student enrollment.

• Transform UNO into a 12-month campus, steering it away from the traditional schedule that leaves it deserted during the summer and on weekends.

The university eventually could switch to a trimester system popularized by community colleges and some metropolitan universities, Christensen has said, freeing up scarce classroom space for more students.

A change in the traditional, two-semester system also could mean that UNO professors wouldn't get their traditional, three-month summer vacations, a change that "would not be one without controversy," Milliken acknowledged.

• Partner with Omaha companies, a process started by Belck. Christensen said he knows many of Omaha's business leaders and key UNO donors but needs to strengthen those relationships.

He won't have any problem making friends with donors and CEOs, predicted former UNO Chancellor Del Weber.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... id=2380018

[Hellenistic Kshatriya]

D2 is the right place for UNO right now.  There is just not the faclilites necessary to go D1.  Have you ever been to the UNO baseball field?  It's on the level of a lot of the high school fields in the city.  Once new facitiles are built and Hockey hopefully gets a bit bigger, maybe they can go D1, but it's a ways off.

[Stargazer]

Am I mistaken?  Or did I see that the UNO baseball team was playing games at Boystown these days?

[Hellenistic Kshatriya]

Am I mistaken?  Or did I see that the UNO baseball team was playing games at Boystown these days?

They are... I guess that makes matters worse.  They play so far from campus at a field taht shouldn't even count.

[Coyote]

And before "The Ballpark at Boystown" (they have played there since then 2005 season) they played at the "West Omaha Baseball Foundation" fields south I-80 just east of 84th St. Formerly known as Westgate Ballpark Complex - UNO and the CWS came up with money to renovate field #2 after the '75 tornado ripped through the area.

[GaryFL]

The real question is, What's the future of Division II?

Teams are leaving D-II in droves. D-II schools have the same expenses as D-I schools (the cost of scholarships), but don't have access to the same revenues (shared revenue from NCAA championships, payday games). So many D-II schools are either moving up to D-I, or dropping scholarships and moving to Division III. D-II is an outmoded concept.

Of course, the NCAA is far too concerned about text messaging and other frivolities to deal with a problem that not only affects a large number of its member institutions, but risks inundating its cash-cow division with small-time refugees.

[Uffda]

While Div II does have scholarships, they don't have as many as Div 1A or 1AA. An example.

Football
1A - 85
1AA - 63
Div II - 36

There are a lot of Div 1A and 1AA that don't have big paydays unless they are signed to play teams like NU, but the paydays don't come to often for Div II teams but then again they might feel that providing a quality education is more important that having a top 10 rated football/basketball team.  :D

[Hellenistic Kshatriya]

I don't buy that D-II is a thing of the past.  It's still got a good amount of time left in it if it is falling apart.  Enough time for UNO to get ready to go D1.[/u]

[Brad]

BREAKING NEWS: Miller chosen as A.D. for Mavs

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... id=2384892

David Miller will be named UNO's athletic director Thursday, according to a person familiar with the hire.

A press conference, labeled as "a major announcement about the leadership of the UNO athletic department," is scheduled for Sapp Fieldhouse at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Miller most recently spent just over six years at Southern Methodist University, where he was an associate athletic director for facilities, operations and programs.

The Manning, Iowa, native got into athletic administration while serving in the Air Force. He was the academy's athletics logistics manager from 1989 until 1995, then spent just over a year as an assistant athletic director at Truman State (Mo.). After four years as an assistant athletic director at Ohio University, Miller then moved to SMU.

He has family in the Omaha area, including two relatives who competed in athletics at UNO.

Miller was one of four finalists who were interviewed for the position in March. University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey coach Mike Kemp withdrew from consideration shortly after his interview, and Miller was later brought back for more interviews. He was the only candidate to be interviewed twice.

Miller's hiring comes one week after John Christensen was named chancellor at UNO after serving as interim chancellor since September.

Miller replaces David Herbster, who resigned in November and began work as an associate athletic director at South Dakota this week. Head athletic trainer Tom Frette has served as UNO's interim athletic director since Herbster stepped down.

[Stargazer]

Plenty of D1 experience.  Perhaps offered the job with the promise of eventually taking us there.

[Coyote]

Mavs closer to new league

Officials from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association voted last weekend to recommend that league presidents approve the admission of UNO, beginning with the 2008-09 academic year. McFillen said league presidents would vote on the matter June 22, during a meeting in conjunction with the NCAA Division II CEO summit in San Diego.

The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
consists of 10 schools in Missouri and Kansas.
It was first formed in 1912.
Current league members include:

Central Missouri
Emporia State
Fort Hays State
Missouri Southern State
Missouri Western State
Northwest Missouri State
Pittsburg State
Southwest Baptist
Truman State
Washburn

[DTO Luv]

I don't know. That conferance just doesn't seem very appealing.

[Coyote]

I don't know. That conferance just doesn't seem very appealing.

I would have to agree. I look at those schools - and then think of Northern CO, SD, SD St, ND, ND St. and I just have to shake my head. Think of the schools UNO plays in hockey and then look at this conference. I am embarrassed.

[Brad]

I hear that UNO is still planning on an arena IF the city tears down the Civic.

[Uffda]

Well I know it isnt Div 1 and since I am from the NCC conference had to do a little fact finding on the teams.


Coaching Polls 2006

Football
Northwest Missouri State was ranked #2 in men's . They lost in the champion footballship.
Pittsburg 14th
Missouri Western 15th
(UNO- 11th)


Men's BB --
Central Missouri  2nd  -
NW Missouri 17th

Women's BB
Missouri Western - 9
Washburn - 8
Emporia State - 18

Volleyball
Truman State - 1
Central Missouri - 17

[Stargazer]

I hear that UNO is still planning on an arena IF the city tears down the Civic

So is that supposed to mean that they would be moving back to the Civic otherwise ?