Shawn EICHORST
Director of Athletics
First Year
Wisconsin-Whitewater (1990)
“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
•Nebraska, Director of Athletics (2013)
the coaches and student-athletes had been successful and nobody knows
•Miami, Director of Athletics (2011-12)
his name, it would be a success.”
Although his preference is to serve and lead diligently from the background,
•Wisconsin, Deputy Athletic Director (2009-11)
Eichorst has already canvassed the state promoting Husker Athletics and
•Wisconsin, Executive Associate Athletic Director (2007-09)
Nebraska’s tremendously talented student-athletes making more than
•Wisconsin, Senior Associate Athletic Director (2006-07)
70 appearances across Nebraska and visiting eight other states in just his
•South Carolina, Interim Athletic Director (2005-06)
first seven months. Eichorst emphasizes academics first and is proud to
•South Carolina, Senior Associate Athletic Director (2004-05)
acknowledge Nebraska’s nation-leading 310 Academic All-Americans,
•Wisconsin-Whitewater, Director of Athletics (1999-2003)
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
EDUCATIONAL LEDGER
show and his Connecting on Campus column to promote campus, coach and
•Wisconsin-Whitewater, 1990 (Bachelor's Degree, Business)
student-athlete academic and community successes. More than 200 Husker
•Marquette, 1995 (Juris Doctorate)
student-athletes were honored at the academic recognition banquet this
•Assistant Adjunct Professor of Law (Marquette)
spring while 188 were named academic All-Big Ten in 2012-13.
During Eichorst’ s first semester at Nebraska in the spring of 2013,
Shawn Eichorst was named the 14th Director of Athletics of the University women’s bowling, coached by the legendary Bill Straub, won a national
of Nebraska by Chancellor Harvey Perlman on Oct. 4, 2012. Eichorst leads title and Rhonda Revelle’s softball team advanced to the Women’s College
a tradition-rich athletic program of 24 varsity athletic teams, 600-plus World Series.
student-athletes and more than 275 full-time employees. Eichorst succeeded
The women’s basketball team, coached by Connie Yori, completed a
legendary Nebraska football coach and Athletic Director Tom Osborne and run to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second time in program history and the
officially assumed his duties on Jan. 3, 2013.
women’s tennis team, coached by Scott Jacobson, made an appearance in
“I am honored to have the opportunity to join the University of Nebraska the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history and earned a share of the
family,” Eichorst said. “Nebraska is an outstanding academic institution Big Ten title. Tennis player Mary Weatherholt finished runner-up at the
with one of the strongest athletic departments in all of college sports. NCAA Singles Championship, the highest-ever finish for a Nebraska tennis
Most importantly, everyone here is committed to keeping the welfare of player. She also became Nebraska’s nation’s leading 17th NCAA Today’s
our student-athletes at the heart of everything we do. I am humbled by the Top 10 award winner.
responsibility and opportunities that lie ahead and will work diligently to
In addition to women’s tennis, two other Nebraska teams added Big
carry on the rich tradition of Husker excellence set forth by Coach Osborne Ten titles in the spring of 2013, as the women’s gymnastics team, coached
and so many others.”
by Dan Kendig, won its second-straight Big Ten title and third-straight
Perlman said it was Eichorst’s commitment to putting student-athletes conference title overall. The men’s track and field team, coached by Gary
first that made Eichorst stand out.
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
The Eichorst family (clockwise): Kristin, Shawn, Jack, Bennett and Joseph.
Director of Athletics at Miami on April 12, 2011
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE
18 | NEBRASKA WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS | 2014
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
postseason appearances streak to 40 consecutive seasons. The women’s
soccer team posted the first NCAA postseason win in program history, while
the volleyball team advanced to the NCAA postseason for the third straight
year and finished the season ranked 15th in the nation.
Before his appointment at Miami, Eichorst served from 2009 to 2011
as the Deputy Athletics Director at the University of Wisconsin, where his
responsibilities under Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez included serving
as the department’s Chief Operating Officer and overseeing the day-to-day
operations of the highly successful athletics program. At Wisconsin, Eichorst
was involved in the design and planning of a new ice hockey and swimming
facility completed in the fall of 2012, as well as with the Student-Athlete
Performance Center in the north end zone of Camp Randall Stadium. He
joined the Badgers’ staff in 2006 as a Senior Associate Athletics Director and
was promoted to Executive Associate Athletics Director in 2007.
Eichorst has experience with three BCS conference institutions previously
serving as University of South Carolina’s Senior Associate Athletics Director
for Administration from 2004 to 2006. With the Gamecocks, Eichorst
oversaw daily operations of the department and supervised the football and
baseball programs. The football team was bowl-eligible each year during
Eichorst’s tenure, and the baseball program competed in the 2004 College
World Series. Additionally, he coordinated and supervised multi-million
dollar facility projects, including a state-of-the-art football training facility.
Eichorst served as the Director of Athletics at his alma mater, University
of Wisconsin-Whitewater until 2003. U nder his tenure, UW-Whitewater
developed into one of the nation’s top Division III athletic programs, with
four top 10 percent National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics
(NACDA) Directors Cup finishes; one NCAA team championship; two NCAA
team runner-up finishes and five individual national champions. The program
also featured 38 Academic All-America selections, seven NCAA Postgraduate
Scholarship winners and 74 All-Americans.
A native of Lone Rock, Wis., Eichorst was an all-conference defensive
back, a three-time letterwinner and 1990 team captain for the University
of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team. He graduated magna cum laude
in business from UW-Whitewater in 1990 and earned a law degree from
Marquette University in 1995. He practiced law in Milwaukee before accepting
the position at Wisconsin-Whitewater.
He is a past member of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement
Committee and State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors. He also previously
served as an assistant adjunct professor of law at Marquette University
Law School, where he taught classes in sports law. He currently serves on
the Marquette University National Sports Law Institute Board of Advisors.
In 2006, he was awarded the Sports Law Alumnus of the Year by
Marquette. He also is a graduate of the Sports Management Institute and
serves on its Executive Committee.
Eichorst and his wife Kristin have three sons: Jack, Joseph and Bennett.