New Facilities Inspire Coaches, Student-Athletes

Randy York’s N-Sider

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Thanks to generous donors who helped Nebraska convert a soccer and tennis complex dream into a $20.4 million reality, Big Red supporters across the country and around the world will understand the impact that the late Dr. Barbara Hibner has had on the University of Nebraska’s Athletic Department.

Hibner served Nebraska Athletics for nearly three decades as the women’s director of athletics and senior woman administrator, blending a tenacious vision with a respectful approach. For the last 15 years, Nebraska Athletics has presented an annual scholarship in her honor and established an annual Dr. Barbara Hibner Trailblazer Award to recognize an individual, a family or a business leader who has provided outstanding support and generous contributions to Nebraska women’s athletics.

Nebraska’s newest athletic complex – named Hibner Stadium and Barbara Hibner Field for soccer and the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center – will provide “much-needed on-campus practice and competition facilities for our women’s soccer and men’s and women’s tennis programs,” Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said. “It will immediately improve the practice and game-day experience for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans and will assist each program in recruiting the nation's best and brightest prospective student-athletes to the University of Nebraska. We are very grateful to Chancellor (Harvey) Perlman and the Board of Regents for their leadership and support of this wonderful project."

Omaha’s Bill and Ruth Scott Set the Tone for Capital Campaign

Omaha’s Bill and Ruth Scott were the trailblazers who set the tone for the capital campaign to build the new soccer facility. Both UNL graduates have been very generous supporters of the schools within the University of Nebraska system, and both are devoted Husker fans who are particularly passionate about bolstering women’s athletics. As devout volleyball fans, they donated the lead gift that revitalized the Bob Devaney Sports Center and created Terry Pettit Court. As enthusiastic women’s soccer fans, Bill and Ruth Scott also donated the lead gift that triggered the momentum to name and honor Dr. Hibner.

“When providing philanthropic support for athletics at the college or the high school level, their focus is frequently on helping women and girls who participate,” said John Scott, who oversees his parents’ foundation. “They try to give women and girls what they need to compete at a high level. Soccer is their latest investment. It became an ideal way to honor Dr. Hibner’s leadership.”

Pettit, Nebraska’s longtime head volleyball coach, said the most important thing about receiving the Trailblazer Award was having Dr. Barbara Hibner’s name on it. “She fought in the trenches for women at a time when there was not the public support that there is today,” Pettit said. “She had the courage to lobby, negotiate and at times annoy people in power so that women could become pole vaulters, basketball players and gymnasts. Those same battles led to other significant opportunities as physicians, entrepreneurs and community leaders.”

Barbara Hibner: The Force behind Soccer Becoming a Nebraska Sport

Naming the soccer complex is a tribute to a program that Hibner helped launch and championed. Nebraska Softball Coach Rhonda Revelle, the all-time winningest coach in Nebraska Athletics’ history, remembers Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Byrne (1993-2002) asking Hibner to analyze women’s sports that would fit Nebraska and help the Huskers comply with Title IX requirements in terms of participation, scholarships, equipment, training, facilities and other benefits. “Dr. Hibner did all the research locally, regionally and nationally and was definitely the catalyst for women’s soccer becoming a sport here,” Revelle said.

John Walker, college soccer’s 1996 National Coach of the Year, is closing in on a quarter-century milestone and is the only head women’s soccer coach in University of Nebraska history. His tradition-rich program has won 10 conference championships, qualified for two NCAA Elite Eight and six NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.

“It's been more than a 20-year dream to have our team play in a soccer specific stadium near our own campus,” Walker said. “The return of night games, the fans' closer proximity to the action and improved amenities will greatly enhance the game-day experience for players and supporters. Everyone in the soccer program is very thankful for our administration’s support and generosity to make this project a reality. It’s monumental for the Nebraska soccer program.”

New Soccer Facility Accommodates Approximately 2,500 Spectators

Located on 28 acres directly north of Nebraska Innovation Campus, the new soccer facilities include one outdoor, lighted, full-sized competition field with seating for approximately 2,500 spectators. The grass for the soccer field was laid in the fall of 2014 and was ready for the Huskers to take the field for the 2015 fall season. The facility includes a game-day-only dressing room, meeting room and showers for the women’s soccer team.

Prior to building combined soccer and tennis facilities, Nebraska practiced and competed on a soccer field in the interior Ed Weir Track and Field Stadium. The 71x115-yard field was the smallest competitive soccer field in the Big Ten and the only field in the conference without lights.

Nebraska’s sprawling indoor/outdoor facilities honor the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center. The combined state-of-the-art facilities were fully funded through private donations and provide Husker student-athletes with elite practice and competition facilities that rank among the best.

Veteran Husker Tennis Coaches Waited Patiently for New Facility

Kerry McDermott and Scott Jacobson, Nebraska’s longtime head tennis coaches, waited patiently and embraced the excitement following the Nebraska  Board of Regents’ decision to build a combined soccer and tennis facility. With 33 years of experience as the Husker men’s tennis coach, McDermott has the second-longest tenure among active Big Ten Conference head coaches. Jacobson has served a quarter-century as the Husker women’s tennis coach.

McDermott coached Steve Jung, a first-team All-American and runner-up at the 1989 Men’s Singles NCAA Tennis Championship. Jacobson coached Mary Weatherholt, the runner-up at the 2013 Women’s Singles NCAA Tennis Championship before adding a prestigious Top Ten Award, the NCAA's highest individual honor.

The Dillon Tennis Center is a game-changer for student-athletes, coaches, fans and recruits. “We’re grateful for the indoor and outdoor tennis facilities,” Jacobson said. “Having a facility of this magnitude will enhance the opportunity to recruit top talent throughout the nation.”

Sid and Hazel Dillon Facility Puts Nebraska on a Level Playing Field

McDermott concurs. “This is a dream come true for us to be able to conduct practices and host matches indoors and outdoors,” he said. “It will create a better learning environment and will allow for more one-on-one time with our student-athletes. It’s one of the best facilities in the country. When kids come in, they’re like ‘Oh, my gosh! This is the best facility I’ve seen.’ I think this finally puts us on the same playing field with major programs that have top-tier facilities.”

The facility for the men’s and women’s tennis programs includes 12 lighted outdoor courts and six indoor courts with a combined total of 1,400 seats for spectators. The indoor courts were completed in April 2015, enabling the men’s and women’s tennis teams to practice inside this past spring. The Dillon Indoor Tennis Center features new dressing rooms, showers and team rooms for both the men’s and women’s tennis programs and includes new offices, meeting rooms and a satellite sports medicine treatment area for student-athletes.

Chancellor Perlman said the land on which the complex is built will benefit student-athletes while making good use of land that was not practical to be developed for Innovation Campus. “It also provides a much better view for those on Innovation Campus than the existing landscape, so it’s a win for everyone,” Perlman said.

New Facilities Inspire Hall-of-Famers Latham, Jung and Shaffer

Joining coaches Walker, McDermott and Jacobson in exciting moves into their new homes this summer are three legendary Hall-of-Fame selections in the 2015 inaugural Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame class – Christine Latham (soccer) and fellow All-Americans Steve Jung (men’s tennis) and Liz Mooney Shaffer (women’s tennis).

Latham played at Nebraska from 1999 to 2002. A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she became a rare three-time All-American. The 2000 Big 12 Player of the Year helped Nebraska sweep the conference regular-season and tournament titles, then repeated as the league’s Player of the Year in 2001. Latham also helped the Huskers make four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and take one trip to the Elite Eight. She remains Nebraska’s all-time leading scorer with 69 goals and 29 assists. She played internationally and professionally and earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in sociology from the University of Nebraska in 2005.

Before serving as a television analyst/commentator during the 2015 FIFA World Cup this summer, Latham called Walker “a pioneer” in recruiting talent from Canada. “John started that trend of recruiting players from outside the United States,” she said. “Other coaches caught on and started recruiting the same way. I think the new facility will help Nebraska recruiting tremendously. I can only imagine what it will be like to be one of the top soccer players and get the opportunity to play in one of the best collegiate facilities and to learn from one of the best collegiate coaches.”

Nebraska Men’s and Women’s Tennis Now a Showcase for Recruiting

Jung, a native of Hacienda Heights, Calif., played at Nebraska from 1986 to 1989 and is the Huskers’ only All-American and the only CoSIDA Academic All-American in Husker men’s tennis history. He earned All-America accolades as a senior in 1989 and was a first-team Academic All-America selection that same season. Jung finished as the runner-up at the 1989 NCAA Singles Championship and teamed with his brother, Stuart, to qualify for the 1989 NCAA Doubles Championship. Jung earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska in 1989 with a major in finance.

“I’m really excited for Nebraska’s men’s tennis program,” Jung said, “because having a top facility like they just built will be a good showcase for recruiting. For years, Nebraska men’s tennis has been bumped around to all kinds of different facilities in Lincoln. Now they have a state-of-the-art indoor/outdoor facility on campus. I think that’s awesome and can’t wait to see it in September when I come back for the BYU football game.”

Mooney Shaffer, a native of Englewood, Colo., is now a mother of six living in Omaha after competing at Nebraska from 1983 to 1986. A four-year letterwinner for the Husker  women’s tennis program, she earned All-America honors in 1984, teaming up with Cari L. Groce in doubles to earn the first All-America accolades in program history. The first Nebraska women’s tennis player in the NCAA era to notch 50 singles wins, 50 doubles wins and 100 combined victories, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska in 1986.

“I had the privilege to tour the new tennis and soccer complex,” Shaffer said. “I literally was awestruck. What an incredible facility and what a powerful recruiting tool this is for future athletes. Back in the early 80’s, I was amazed walking into the Bob Devaney Sports Center. It was one of the coolest places I I'd ever seen. In much the same way, but with a much greater magnitude, this new facility is going to attract some serious talent to Nebraska!”

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