14 | nebraska men’s Gymnastics | 2013-14
Shawn
Eichorst
Director of Athletics |Wisconsin-Whitewater (1990) | Second Season
Shawn Eichorst was named the 14th Director of Athletics of
the University of Nebraska by Chancellor Harvey Perlman on
Oct. 4, 2012. Eichorst leads a tradition-rich athletic program
of 24 varsity athletic teams, 600-plus student-athletes and
more than 275 full-time employees. Eichorst succeeded
legendary Nebraska football coach and Athletic Director Tom
Osborne and officially assumed his duties on Jan. 3, 2013.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to join the
University of Nebraska family,” Eichorst said. “Nebraska
is an outstanding academic institution with one of the
strongest athletic departments in all of college sports. Most
importantly, everyone here is committed to keeping the
welfare of our student-athletes at the heart of everything
we do. I am humbled by the responsibility and opportunities
that lie ahead and will work diligently to carry on the rich
tradition of Husker excellence set forth by Coach Osborne
and so many others.”
Perlman said it was Eichorst’s commitment to putting
student-athletes first that made Eichorst stand out.
“When I asked him how I would be able to measure his
success if he were here five years from now,” Perlman said,
“his response was that if the coaches and student-athletes
had been successful and nobody knows his name, it would
be a success.”
Although his preference is to serve and lead diligently from
the background, Eichorst has already canvassed the state
promoting Husker Athletics and Nebraska’s tremendously
talented student-athletes making more than 70 appearances
across Nebraska and visiting eight other states in just his
first seven months. Eichorst emphasizes academics first
and is proud to acknowledge Nebraska’s nation-leading
310 Academic All-Americans, including eight who earned
the honor in 2012-13. In fact, he invited all of the academic
honor winners back to campus for a reunion in November.
He has met with each college dean on campus and uses his
monthly radio show and his Connecting on Campus column
to promote campus, coach and student-athlete academic
and community successes. More than 200 Husker studentathletes were honored at the academic recognition banquet
this spring while 188 were named academic All-Big Ten in
2012-13.
During Eichorst’s first semester at Nebraska in the spring
of 2013, women’s bowling, coached by the legendary Bill
Straub, won a national title and Rhonda Revelle’s softball
team advanced to the Women’s College World Series.
The women’s basketball team, coached by Connie Yori,
completed a run to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second time
in program history and the women’s tennis team, coached
by Scott Jacobson, made an appearance in the Sweet 16 for
the first time in program history and earned a share of the Big
Ten title. Tennis player Mary Weatherholt finished runner-up
at the NCAA Singles Championship, the highest-ever finish
for a Nebraska tennis player. She also became Nebraska’s
nation’s leading 17th NCAA Today’s Top 10 award winner.
In addition to women’s tennis, two other Nebraska teams
added Big Ten titles in the spring of 2013, as the women’s
gymnastics team, coached by Dan Kendig, won its secondstraight Big Ten title and third-straight conference title
overall. The men’s track and field team, coached by Gary
Pepin, claimed the outdoor team title.
In the summer of 2013, three facility projects were
completed: Memorial Stadium, which expands to
accommodate more than 90,000 football fans and will
include the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory
(NAPL) and the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior (CB3)
research facilities; Pinnacle Bank Arena in downtown Lincoln,
where the Husker men’s and women’s basketball teams are
permanent tenants; and the renovated Bob Devaney Sports
Center, where volleyball, men’s and women’s gymnastics
and the wrestling team will compete. Construction for each
of these three facilities began with Osborne at the helm.
Athletic Director Emeritus Osborne continues to provide
Eichorst with counsel on a number of items including the East
Stadium research initiatives. The collaborative research that
will take place within an athletic facility shared by academics
and athletics is believed to be the first of its kind and sets
the tone for the leadership role Nebraska has taken in the
Big Ten Conference and nationally.
Eichorst came to Nebraska after spending 18 months
as the Director of Athletics at the University of Miami. He
was named the 12th Director of Athletics at Miami on April
12, 2011 and served until Oct. 4, 2012 when he was hired
by Nebraska as a Special Assistant to Chancellor Perlman.
In his first year as Director of Athletics at Miami, Eichorst
helped grow the academic reputation as well as the fan base.
Under his watchful eye, the Hurricane Club grew by more than
500 members, surpassing 5,000 members nationwide. More
than $19 million in student-athlete support was generated in
2011-12 and an additional $14.2 million in capital gifts was
raised toward the new Center for Athletic Excellence facility,
scheduled for completion in the fall of 2013.
During his tenure, both the Hurricane men’s and women’s
basketball programs advanced to the postseason, with the
women posting the highest national ranking in school history
at No. 5, advancing to the NCAA second round. The women’s
tennis team advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fourth
straight season and the baseball program
extended its NCAA postseaso