1969August 15 - On that day Nebraska became the first school in the country to hire a Strength Coach. According to research done by Dr. Ken Leisner, Bob Devaney was the first college athletic director in the nation to hire a strength coach. At the urging of Tom Osborne, Bob decided to give the lifting program a try but looked Boyd Epley in the eye and said, “If anyone gets slower you’re fired.” As a result of that statement Nebraska players were tested on a variety of performance tests to be able show Coach Devaney their progress.

(Fig. 1) Bob Devaney Nebraska Athletic Director and Head

Football Coach

Husker Power Timeline

Mike Beran, a guard, was one of the most dedicated Huskers in history, Fig. 2. As a freshmen he was 180 lbs. and ran 5.5 seconds for 40 yards. (He played at 230 lbs. and ran a 4.9 second forty as a senior with a 360 lb. bench press.) His remarkable progress and work ethic set a standard for all Nebraska athletes.

Coach Osborne asked Epley to speak at the Nebraska Football Camp. In the front row was 9th grader Dave Redding, a student in the camp from North Platte, who later became a defensive end for Nebraska and had a 25 year career as strength coach in the NFL including a Super Bowl win with the Green Bay Packers, Fig. 3.

(Fig. 2) Mike Beran was the most dedicated linemen

(Fig. 3) Dave Redding 25 years as strength coach in the NFL

1970March 1 - A "school record board" was established for the North Field House weight room. The average bench-press for Husker Players was 212.2 pounds and none could bench press 300lbs. The average bodyweight was 212.17 lbs. Linebacker John Pitts became the first Husker to bench press 300 lbs. Offensive Tackle, Bob Newton became the first football player to Incline Press 300 lbs. when he did 305 lbs. Offensive Center, Doug Dumler was the first to power clean 300 lbs.

Nebraska’s Bob Devaney was one of the first head coaches in history to have his football team lift weights during the season.

A 35-31 win in the game of the Century against Oklahoma put Nebraska in position to win it’s first national title. Quarterback Jerry Tagge powered Nebraska past LSU 17-12.

Jim Williams a Nebraska gymnast became Epley’s first assistant strength coach but was hired away by Arkansas before he was offered a paid position.

1971

Nebraska won the National Championship in football again with a win over Alabama and

Legendary Coach Bear Bryant in the Sugar Bowl. This team was recognized as the best football

team of all-time by Sporting News magazine.

1972October 16 - A weekly newsletter was started titled "The Lifting News.” This one page newsletter highlighted the weekly efforts in the weight room much like social media does today.

November 20 - Boyd Epley assisted Dr. Bob Robertson and Dr. Ken Rose with an NCAA study on the seasonal fluctuations of performance conducted in Nebraska’s East Stadium Research Lab. Years later Nebraska would build the Nebraska Athletic Performance Lab in an addition to the East Stadium.

December 11 - Freshman Defensive End, Bob Martin came through on a request for someone to donate a radio for the weight room.

Nebraska Baseball was the second Husker sport to begin lifting weights.

(Fig. 4) Tagge crosses goal line for Nebraska’s first championship against LSU.

October 16 - Carl Johnson a junior college transfer bench press 375 lbs. which set a new record for football players.

1973The NCAA banned steroids for college athletes.

Tom Osborne is named Head football Coach. His 25 year career generates 255 wins and three national championships.

February 19th - Wingback Tom Heiser led the NCAA research study with a 33.5” vertical jump. Tom later became the a Nebraska team doctor.

(Fig. 5) Tom Osborne

April 30th - Long Jumper Ron Childs was voted the first ever Lifter of the Year award after an impressive 30 repetitions with 750 lbs. on a leg press machine.

Center Doug Dumler and Guard Mike Beran both won Olympic lifting titles at the Nebraska Collegiate lifting championships.

The Coliseum weight room for students was expanded to 4000 sq. ft. and made accessible for women for the first time.

Donn Swanbom, Epley’s second assistant, was hired by UCLA to implement a multi-station concept using multiple power racks.

1974

The Lifter of the Year Award was developed for Football with center Rik Bonness winning the first two years. Bonness was 188 lbs. as a freshman and 220 lbs. as a senior with a 4.6 forty yard dash. His dedication showed as he drove 50 miles three times a week all summer to train at Nebraska. His hard work paid off being named All-American twice.

April 3rd - NU Men’s Basketball begins a lifting program for the first time.

A Summer Conditioning Manual was created for Football for the first time as Nebraska became the first school to lift weights in an organization summer program.

1975

January 20 - Bruce Conger was the first Wrestler to bench press 300 lbs.

March 10 –Dave Gillespie became the first I-Back to bench press 300 lbs.

Dr. Aleen Swofford was hired as the first Women’s Athletic Director at Nebraska and Boyd Epley was asked to introduce strength training to all eight women’s sports.

March 12th - Defensive back, Ardell Johnson an a hand-held 4.3 seconds for 40 yards. The first Husker to ever do so.

April 23rd – Rubber Bumper plates were added to the weight room for the first time.

March 17th - Becky Chapman was the first female weightlifter for UNL. She won the 114 lbs. weight class in the University Intramural Lifting Competition.

The University of Miami hired Epley to design their football weight room.

Merlene Ottey, one of the greatest female athletes in Olympic history, was a Husker.

(Fig. 6) Merlene Ottey

1976March 8th - Peggy Liddick a gymnast was the first female to make the Lifting Newsletter.

Steve Bliss, Epley’s third assistant, was hired by Miami to run their new weight room. In October Miami and Bliss came to Lincoln to play the Huskers in Lincoln. After becoming Miami’s first strength coach, Bliss later became Ohio State’s first strength coach.

Mike Arthur, Epley’s fourth assistant, the first to be paid sets the world record deadlift 540 lbs. at 132 lbs. bodyweight. Arthur would become one of the top strength coaches in the nation staying with the Huskers his entire career.

Rod Horn wins the Football Lifter of the Year as a 260 lb. freshman. He power cleaned 342 lbs., snatched 237 lbs., squatted 560 lbs, at 6‘4.5“. Rod was known for eating a loaf of bread and drinking a gallon of milk each day.

Head Coach Rick Forzano of the Detroit Lions hired Epley as their first strength and conditioning coach but a week later Tom Osborne convinced Epley to stay with the Huskers. Tom said to Boyd, “If you stay with me here at Nebraska, I will always be there for you.” That was all Boyd needed to hear. As part of Epley’s package to stay he taught two weight training classes for the Physical Education Department each week.

(Fig. 8) Mike Arthur set the world record deadlift

April 28th - Epley asked Mike Arthur to coach the UNL Weightlifting team even though Mike was only a junior in college at the time. The team later placed 2nd at the National Championships.

(Fig. 7) Boyd with Steve Bliss of Miami Oct 2, 1976

1977February 28th - Lawrence Cooley becomes the first Husker to bench press 400 lbs. and ties I.M. Hipp for Lifter of the Year. Cooley was 6’ 240 lbs.

(Fig. 9) Middle Guard Lawrence Cooley was the first Husker to bench press 400 lbs.

February 28th - Sophomore I-Back Richard Berns vertical jumped 33”. During his senior season he jumped 36.5”to lead all Huskers.

March 14th - QB Earl Everett lead all QB’s on the vertical jump with a 33.5” jump.

Mike Arthur won the AAU Collegiate National Powerlifting Championship.

Husker Power Club purchased an Apple computer as the first computer for the strength program.

Bob Plambeck, a freshman from Bellevue, became the first Defensive Back to bench press 300 lbs.

September 29 - Husker Power celebrated 100 wins in football with a victory against Penn State 42-17.

(Fig. 10) Exercise Class

Epley and Arthur provided a jazzercise program for over 100 girls. The co-eds received a jump rope, body fat calculation and program three days per week for a semester for five dollars. The supervisors were Jane Lilyhorn, Vicki Hurd, Liz Hayes, and Maria Kunz.

1978January 23rd - Tom Osborne made it clear to the football team that a 300 lb. bench press was to be considered a minimum for linemen.

June 7 - A summer conditioning class was started for football. Nebraska is considered to be the first school to introduce summer conditioning for college credit. They called themselves “Studs Only” and trained at 5:30 p.m.

July 10th - Offensive Tackle Kelvin Cark set the All-time record Incline Press at 350 lbs. at a bodyweight of 270 lbs.

(Fig. 11) Summer Conditioning started at Nebraska

(Fig. 13b) Lingenfelter’s photo wasturned into Husker Power logo

(Fig. 12) Nebraska strength coaches help start the NSCA(l to r) Jim Williams, Gary Wade, Mike Flynt, Dave Redding, Mike Arthur, Boyd Epley, Steve Bliss and Bill Allerheiligen.

(Fig. 13a)

(Fig. 13c)

July 29 - The National Strength and Conditioning Association was founded in Lincoln, Nebraska. Epley is recognized as the NSCA Founder. The University of Nebraska had a big influence on the success of the NSCA. Epley’s staff, Mike Arthur, Bill Allerheiligen, and Gary Wade hosted the event. Nebraska AD Bob Devaney was the featured speaker and Husker All-American tackle Kelvin Clark provided singing entertainment to the 76 charter members.

Husker Power logo - offensive linemen Bruce Lingenfelter’s photo, Fig. 13b, was used to create the original Husker Power Logo, Fig. 13a, by artist Win Mumma. Lingenfelter held the All-time squat record at the time at 565 lbs. Years later it was determined that proper squat technique required the head to look forward not upward to prevent back extension. The logo was changed to reflect proper form, Fig. 13c.

1980Russell Gary a defensive back was the first Husker to hold all school records for his position which helped him become the football Lifter of the Year.

(Fig. 15) Russell Gary named Lifter of the Year in 1980

(Fig. 14) Russell Gary first to set all four position records

Nebraska became the first school to offer a degree for Strength Coaching.

Nebraska became the first school in the country to have a National Strength Coach of the Year - In 1980 Boyd Epley was presented the Paramount Cup by the National Strength and Conditioning Association at it’s third national conference in Dallas.

(Fig. 16) America’s first strength coach of the year - 1980

Jerry Schmidt, a student strength coach from Harvard, NE, is shown with Lawrence Pete, Fig.18. Jerry developed into one of the top strength coaches in the country as he became the strength coach at Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Florida, and Oklahoma. Lawrence Pete later became the first husker to ever bench press 500 lbs.

Husker Power, Inc. offered strength and conditioning to high school athletes in the form of Performance 101 camp, Fig.19.

(Fig. 17) Jerry Schmidt

1982 The NCAA began to sanction women’s sports.

Nebraska Women’s Track Team won the AIWA title.

After most all the players had left the field house Mike Rozier ran his 40 yard dash naked to see if he could run any faster but he failed to run any faster with no clothes on.

Epley created the Husker Power Club to support the Nebraska Strength and Conditioning program and staff. With the help of a dedicated board of directors, the Husker Power Club raised over 2 million in support of the Nebraska Strength Program. Many generous Husker fans made this possible.

(Fig. 18) Jerry Schmidt with Lawrence Pete

(Fig. 19) Danny Noonan supervising Performance 101

(Fig. 20) Husker Power Club

1981March 11th - Center Dave Rimington squatted 650 lbs. to break the All-time Husker record. He also ran 5.05(e) and power cleaned 306 lbs.

1985Linda Ybarra was hired as Secretary. She later became Epley’s Administrative Assistant. Epley was quoted as saying, “Linda is the best in the department.” She and the multi-talented Strength Coach Randy Gobel, both left the strength program at the request of Epley to join him in overseeing the development of the Tom and Nancy Osborne Complex in 2004.

The Performance Index and Strength Index were developed by numbers guru Dr. Chris Eskridge with help from Assistant Strength Coach Mike Arthur for Husker Power, Inc. The University of Nebraska became the first school to use the Performance Index and Strength Index to evaluate performance and to motivate athletes. Husker Power, Inc. became EPIC Athletic Performance in 2006.

(Fig. 21) Linda Ybarra was hired as the Husker

Power Secretary

1983Nebraska became the first school in the country to have an Outland Award winner three years in a row and the first to have two-time winners with Dave Rimington and Dean Steinkuhler.Nebraska became the first school in the country to produce 10 Outland, Lombardi, or Heisman Trophy winners.

Nebraska’s Women’s Track team adds their second National Title, and their first NCAA title.

1984I-Back Jeff Smith never missed a workout in his entire Nebraska career. Jeff Smith was named Lifter of the Year after going his entire career without an absence. He gained 20 lbs. and increased his vertical jump 8”.

Nebraska’s Women’s Track team wins third consecutive National Title, and their second NCAA title.

1991Mike Arthur released the 10 Principles of Performance which were updated in 2015 and placed in all three Husker weight rooms for student-athletes.

January 17th - “The Meeting” A meeting that changed the Huskers. 200 players dedicated themselves like none before them. They went 6500 workouts without a miss and at the end of the winter program they set 78 school records in one day.

June - Coach Osborne asked Epley to come up with a way to maintain the discipline the players had demonstrated during the winter program. Epley developed a point system for football players. This led to the development of the Unity Council by Dr. Jack Stark the next year. The council was made up of players from each position. Players with too many penalty points would go before the Unity Council to explain themselves. The council would decide which players would need to miss a game and what punishment would be used.

(Fig. 22) Ten Principles

(Fig. 23) Bill Byrne

1992Bill Byrne was hired to replace Bob Devaney as Director of Athletics and did a tremendous job with the Nebraska Athletic Department and staff.

1993Boyd Epley was named Assistant Athletic Director of the Nebraska Athletic Department by Athletic Director Bill Byrne.

Boyd Epley was honored by the the Nebraska Hall of Fame with the Lyell Bremser Merit Award.

(Fig. 24) Epley honored by Nebraska Hall of Fame

This tactic worked as the Huskers were unbeatable in the fourth quarter and came from behind to win a national championship over Miami. They also won another national rushing title.

Basketball Player Tom Wald became the first Husker other than a football players to make the Record Platform in the Strength Complex.

1994Nebraska football was set to win a national championship over Florida State with 1:16 left on the clock. Somehow Florida State managed to win the game. During the following summer conditioning program Epley had Randy Gobel put 1:16 seconds on the game clock each workout and added an extra minute and sixteen seconds of work to the summer program each day to motivate the players.

(Fig. 25) Wald qualifies for the Record Platform

(Fig. 26) Record Platform

Offensive linemen Brendan Stai, Zach Wiegert, Rob Zatechta, all members of the “PipeLine”created the “Real Deal” workout. This program was a six day split routine that required a lot of dedication.

(Fig. 27) The Husker Power Club has a demonstration each homecoming for members

(Fig. 28) The offensive line gave up NO sacks all 1995 season

1995

Mike Arthur was named the National Strength and Conditioning Coach-of-the-Year by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coach's Association.

Huskers win the National Championship over Florida as they physically dominated the Gators.

The Husker Power Web site went on-line under the direction of Danny Noonan Assistant Strength Coach and former All-American player.

Nebraska offensive line coached by Milt Tenopir and Dan Young doesn’t give up a single sack all season.

Nebraska Women’s Volleyball win’s their first national title against Texas. The Husker’s were 32-1 during the 1995 season.

Dave Ellis was hired as the Coordinator of Nutrition, as a member of the Performance Team.

1996July 1 - Courtney Carter became the first full-time female strength coach at Nebraska. She later married Assistant Strength Coach and former National Shot Put Champion Kevin Coleman.

Karen Cook was hired at the Husker Power Secretary/Receptionist.

Rodger DeGarmo was hired as the Husker Power technician for Olympic lifts after assisting with the Olympics Games in Atlanta and heads up the Bob Devaney Sports Center strength training program and facilities.

Charlton Heston stops by to see the world famous strength complex.

(Fig. 29) Courtney Carter is the first full-time female strength

coach for Nebraska

(Fig. 30) Karen Cook - Husker Power Secretary/Receptionist

(Fig. 31) Moses (Charles Heston) stops by to see the Strength Complex

1997Huskers win National Championship over Peyton Manning and Tennessee. Osborne collects a third championship in four years and a trip to the White House.

(Fig. 33) Coach Tom Osborne wins the National Championship three times in four years.

(Fig. 32) Husker Championship Rings

(Fig. 34) The Legacy by Fred Hoppe

The Legacy statue by Fred Hoppe in front of the East Stadium was patterned after the photo below. Fred asked the assistant strength coaches to wear plaster casts to make the mold for the casting in bronze. Nebraska Assistant Strength Coach Randy Gobel donned the K-state uniform as did John Archer and Kevin Coleman.

1998January 2nd - Tom Osborne retires after posting 255 wins and three national championships.

March 16th - Ken Harvey at 253 lbs. set Baseball records in the Vertical Jump 35.5” for 656 points, Pro Agility 4.24 seconds for 605 points, 10-yard dash 1.65 sec. for 694 points, and 40-yard dash at 4.89 for 588 points. This effort earned him the first ever Baseball Lifter of the Year Trophy.

April 14th - Ryan Tobin set the Wrestling record for vertical jump at 32 inches for 524 points.

(Fig. 36) Ahman goes untouched for a touchdown on the first play of the game

September 12th - Husker Power celebrated 300 wins in football with a victory over California 24-3 (Head Coach Frank Solich presents ball to Boyd Epley). A commemorative coin was given to all current and former Nebraska Strength Coaches thanking them for their contribution to the most successful strength program in history.

(Fig. 35) Ahman Green posted 819 points for 10 yards

Ahman Green had a spectacular run against Colorado on the first play of the game. He went totally untouched for a touchdown.

1999Nebraska became the only school to have two full-time nutrition staff members when Lisa Kopecky joined Dave Ellis on the Husker Power Staff.

The Food Channel featured the Performance Nutrition program and the fact the nutritionist go with the athletes to the grocery store to help them make food choices.

The Performance Buffet staff,

headed by Art McWilliams,

provided great food using the

stop light colors to identify

percentage of fat in the food.

Items marked green contained

less than 10% fat, yellow were

10-20% fat, and red were 20-

30% fat or higher.

(Fig. 39) Arthur and Bailey put the Nebraska program in writing

(Fig. 37) Nutrition goes shopping

(Fig. 38) James Harris with the Bod Pod

Human Kinetics published "Complete Conditioning for Football" by Mike Arthur and Bryan Bailey.

The Bod Pod was used to determine lean body mass.

Cookie Belcher sets the Basketball Index record at 2386 points for four tests and Nicole Kubik scores the best for women at 1913.

2000 Football players in Winter Conditioning gain 1120 lbs. of Lean Body Mass.

Boyd Epley and Mike Arthur were named as Executive Board Members for the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. (CSCCa)

Nebraska Women’s Volleyball adds their second national title. The Huskers went undefeated in the 2000 season with a record of 34-0, and beat Wisconsin in the Championship.

The Cook Pavilion gets new Field Turf field. One of the first in the entire nation to have it.

2001January 25th - Nebraska Hammer Thrower, Melissa Price set an All Sport record for women on the Squat with 345 lbs. for 563 points.

The Strength Center at Phoenix College in Phoenix, Arizona is named the Boyd Epley Strength Center. Boyd attended there in 1966-67.

Epley named “The Godfather” by American Football Monthly magazine.

(Fig. 40) Phoenix College names weight room after Epley

(Fig. 41) Epley makes the cover

2002Bill Byrne moves to Texas A&M and Steve Pederson is hired as Athletic Director.

Brendan Stai who was one of the strongest Nebraska offensive linemen in history did 42 reps with 225 lbs. to lead the prospects at the NFL combine.

(Fig. 43) Peaches James - over 30”

Jon Clanton became the first Husker to score over 1000 points and any of the six performance tests. His 1018 for his 3.97 Pro Agility Run remains the best ever on any test for a Husker.

(Fig. 42) Bowden says “Thanks for teaching us.”

Bobby Bowden, who competed with Joe Paterno for the record for most football wins in history, hired three of Epley’s assistants at Florida State. The former Nebraska assistants are Jon Jost, Josh Hingst, and Zac Conner.

Softball pitcher, Peaches James was the first NU student-athlete to vertical jump 30”. Fig 43.

Athletic Director Steve Pederson asked Epley and Tommie Frazier to travel to 17 cities in three days with in a plane donated by former player Jim Pillen. Frazier was the fund raiser and Epley was along to explain the project features.

Pederson wanted Epley to oversee all athletic department facilities and staff in addition to taking on this new project. One of Epley’s first projects was a presentation to the department coaches with a plan to improve recruiting facilities including the creation of a Heisman Room which was made open to the public. Mike Arthur

was promoted to Director of Performance to oversee the

lifting programs for sports other than football and Bryan Bailey

was promoted to Head Strength Coach for Football. This

structure proved very successful as the Huskers had three football players squat over 600 lbs. and won 10 games.

(Fig. 45) The Heisman Room is open to the public for tours

(Fig. 44) Epley and Frazier hit 17 cities in three days

Boyd Epley and Mike Arthur were inducted into the USA Collegiate Strength Coaches Hall of Fame.

Epley asked his son J.R. to draw a new

Herbie. The old Herbie was patterned

after a caricature of Don Bryant. During

the time when the mascot was being

made, Epley released announcements

that Herbie was in training. This was the

brain child of Chris Anderson, (Sports

Information Director). Press releases

showed Herbie on the Stairmaster,

running stadium steps and lifting

weights with the football players. He

was shown getting a haircut at the

Clipper barber shop. Randy Gobel and

John Ingram even created a

Herbiemobile for him.(Fig. 46) Drawing by J.R. Epley (Fig. 47) New Herbie

2004In his first year as Associate AD, Epley was named the National Associate Athletic Director of the Year by the All -American Football Foundation at a banquet in Chicago, Illinois.

December - Dave Kennedy was hired by Steve Pederson as Head

Strength Coach. Dave had been a student strength coach for the

Huskers from 1982-1988 before going to Ohio State and Pittsburgh.

June 6th - Boyd Epley was promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Performance and Facilities Development to oversee the design and construction of the 10 million dollar Howard and Rhonda Hawks Championship Center and the 46 million dollar Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex.

2003

(Fig. 48) Rimington honored by Academic

Hall of Fame

Epley’s book The Path to Athletic Power, published by Human Kinetics

explains the principles behind the Nebraska strength program and tells some

behind the scenes stories.

July 21st - Dave Rimington is the first Husker named to the Academic Hall of

Fame. Nebraska leads the nation in Academic All-Americans but Rimington is

the first Nebraska athlete in the Academic Hall of Fame. The award was

presented at Bill Walton’s home in San Diego.

August 10th - Ground Breaking ceremonies were held on the exact site where Schulte Field House once stood. Athletic teams had to scramble during the winter months as indoor training facilities were not available during construction. The Hawks Center was planned to be completed first to provide a 120 yard indoor field with lighting up to 100 foot candles.

What makes the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex project special is adjacency. Nebraska's weight room moved from the West Stadium Strength Complex to the north end of Memorial Stadium. The 2006 Strength Complex which was later named after Ndamukong Shu, is across the hall from a new Athletic Medicine Center. Those two along with the Huskers' new locker room make up the Charles and Romona Myers Performance Center on the first floor of the Osborne Athletic Complex.

Epley was able to convince Pederson to add a sky bridge connecting the Tom and Nancy Osborne Complex to the Hawks Championship Center so everything would be available indoors for the athletes. The first athlete to see the new indoor center was a recruit from Minnesota and he simply said, “WOW!”

(Fig. 49) Ground Breaking Ceremony

(Fig. 50) The 10 million dollar Hawks Center upper level viewing with 100 theater seats

2006The Husker Women’s Volleyball Team records their third National Title. The Huskers beat Stanford in the National Championship game hosted in Omaha, NE. The team was 33-1 during the 2006 season.

2011The Lutcher Stark Museum opens in Austin, Texas. The museum contains the largest collection of strength and conditioning history in the world.

The University of Nebraska sent the “Jack Bench” to the Lutcher Stark Museum to be displayed. The bench has two tractor jacks that allowed the athletes to adjust the bar depending on the height needed.

(Fig. 52) The Nebraska “Jack Bench” now resides in the Lutcher Stark Museum

(Fig. 51) Lutcher Stark Museum

2011The 1971 Nebraska Football team was honored in Memorial Stadium to celebrate the 40 year anniversary. According to Sporting News, after 125 years of college football, the ‘71 Huskers were the Greatest Team that ever played.

(Fig. 53) The 1971 Huskers honored

2012June- An Inter-Association Task Force on Preventing Sudden Death in Collegiate Conditioning Sessions, was published in the NATA Journal. NSCA President Dr. Steve Fleck and NSCA Founder Boyd Epley were co-authors along with many other representatives of national organizations concerned with athlete safety. This document recommends that sport coaches should not be allowed to change the strength or conditioning programs that are recommended by certified strength and conditioning coaches. This recommendation came about as a result of twenty-one conditioning deaths over a ten year period.

(Fig. 54) Publication in the NATA Journal

2013 January 1- Tom Osborne retires as Nebraska Athletic Director. Tom Osborne consistently led by example which allowed athletes and staff to trust that he would always do the right thing. If he said something you could count on it being the truth. He looked you in the eye and truly cared about each person.

2014 August- Mike Arthur’s title is changed to create an opening for Nebraska to hire an Assistant Athletic Director position to oversee the Strength and Conditioning Department and a search begins.

(Fig. 55) Mike Arthur

September 16- Boyd Epley is presented the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is presented by the Department of Heath in Washington, D.C. to recognize individuals whose careers have greatly contributed to the advancement or promotion of physical activity, fitness, sports and nutrition-related programs nationwide.

(Fig. 56) PCFSN Executive Director – Shelli Pfohl (L) and Council

Chairman Dominque Dawes (R) present Boyd the 2014 Lifetime

Achievement Award.

(Fig. 57) President’s Council Award

Recipients are selected by members of the President’s Council based on the span and scope of an individual’s career, the estimated number of lives they have touched, and the impact of their legacy. Boyd is the first strength and conditioning coach to ever be honored with this prestigious award.

September 22 - The University of Nebraska Athletic Department announced that Boyd Epley will return to Nebraska as the Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning. Boyd was hired by Legendary Coach and Athletic Director Bob Devaney and was Tom Osborne’s Strength Coach. He will now work with Nebraska Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst and Executive Associate AD Steve Waterfield to create opportunities for athletes to win championships.

(Fig. 58) Boyd Epley returns to Nebraska after eight years at the

NSCA in Colorado Springs

October 6 - Boyd Epley returned to Nebraska as Assistant Athletic Director to oversee the Husker Power Strength and Conditioning Department, the strength and conditioning facilities, budget and staff. His first order of business was to make adjustments to the Husker Circuit in the Alloy Strength Complex to make it completely ground based for the nine sports that train there.

Mike Arthur is now Director of Strength and

Conditioning Program Research. He is

instrumental in the evaluation of the testing

results and of course the Performance Index

that he and Dr. Chris Eskridge developed in

1985.

(Fig. 59) Mike Riley is Nebraska’s new Football Coach

December 4 – Mike Riley is hired as Head Football Coach. After a swift, silent search Mike Riley

was picked to be Nebraska's new head football coach. Riley, who has just four nine-win

seasons at Oregon State in 14 campaigns.

2015January 6- New strength staff were added to the NU Football Program. Several changes were made to the Nebraska Strength and Conditioning Staff in 2015. One of the biggest changes was hiring Mark Philipp as Head Strength Coach for Football.

Mark was made Captain for the Suh weight room in the Osborne Complex and hired four assistant strength coaches. His Associate Head Strength coach and longtime friend is Tim Rabas. Willie Jones was the one strength coach that was retained from the previous staff. Jamie Belt and Andrew Erwin were also added as Assistant Strength Coaches for Football, Fig. 60.

(Fig. 61) Tim Wilson, CSCSHead Men’s Basketball

Strength Coach

Tim Wilson, Fig. 61, was made Captain for the Hendricks Strength Complex in the Devaney Sports Center for Rusty Ruffcorn and Jon Pfeifer. Lauren Harris, Fig. 62, was made Captain for the Alloy Strength Complex in the Hawks Championship Center for Brian Kmitta and Lucas Novotny.

(Fig. 62) Lauren Harris, CSCSHead Softball and Rifle

Strength Coach

(Fig. 60) Mark Philipp Head Men’s Football Strength Coach

February 1- Husker Power policies and procedures were updated into a document call THE BLUEPRINT. All phases of the Husker Power Program were reviewed, analyzed and shared with Human Resources to bring the policies into alignment with University policies and Athletic Department policies. THE BLUEPRINT included the new and improved Ten Principles which are now on Display in each of the three weight rooms for student-athletes.

(Fig. 63) The Blueprint for Success

July- Steve Waterfield, Executive Associate Athletic Director approved several staff changes for the Husker Power Strength and Conditioning Department. Lauren Harris was promoted to Assistant Director in addition to her duties as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Softball and Rifle. Lucas Novotny was promoted from Intern to Head Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coach and Chelsea Barr who was at Indiana has been hired to assist Brian Kmitta with strength and conditioning for Volleyball and Track & Field in addition to being the floor supervisor in the Alloy Strength Complex.

2015

(Fig. 64) Lauren Harris Assistant Director for

Strength & Conditioning

(Fig. 65) Lucas Novotny Head Baseball and

Soccer Strength Coach

August 1 - The NCAA legislation went into effect requiring all Division I Strength and Conditioning Coaches to have accredited Certification. The NCAA recommended CSCS Certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association or SCCC Certification from the CSCCa for all strength and conditioning coaches.

November- Boyd took a new approach to motivating the Nebraska student-athletes to train hard in their off-season programs. Only the most talented student-athletes will be invited to a competition in the NAPL. To qualify they must finish in the top 10% of their team on the Performance Index which includes the Vertical Jump, 10 Yard Dash, and the Pro Agility Run. See AWARDS for full details.

(Fig. 66) T-shirt for Participating in the Husker Power Athlete of the

Year

December 5 - The Tom Heiser Award was presented for the fourteenth time to a Husker Power staff member who has overcome all obstacles to succeed. The winner this year is Karen Cook. Previous winners of the Heiser Award are: Nate Thomas, Curt Thompson, Ken Williams, Rob Kobza, John Archer, Tony Swenson, Danny Noonan, Rodger DeGarmo, Zach Duval, Chris Wieseman, David Hofmaier, Shaun Huls, and Josh Hingst.

(Fig. 67) Karen Cook wins the Tom Heiser Award

Dr. Jack Ransone is hired as the Director of the NAPL. He comes from Texas State University but has worked with the San Antonio Spurs and represented several sports at the Olympic games. He is a Certified Athletic Trainer and has a passion for improving athletic performance. He will be a great help to Husker Power.

(Fig. 68) Boyd with new Director of the NAPL – Dr. Jack Ransone

December 19th - Nebraska Volleyball Wins fourth NCAA Championship in Omaha, Nebraska in front of the largest crowd to ever view a volleyball game live at 17,561 in attendance. Strength Coach Brian Kmitta has much to celebrate.

(Fig. 69) Nebraska wins 4th National

Championship with 3-0 win over Texas