“I think it’s an honor to be leading Husker athletics.”
“Believe me, I have nothing to run away from but I whole-heartedly wanted to run to this job. From the time I was a small boy on a wheat-cattle ranch in Eastern Washington, I always tuned in to the Nebraska-Oklahoma game on Thanksgiving. Weekends, never missed one. Even did it in college when I was a player myself. “A storied, storied athletic program at a very prestigious institution.”
“When you name the top two, three, four, five positions as an athletic director, Nebraska’s in that same breath.”
His motto:
“Honor the past, live the present, create the future”
“I’m not one that would take a job in an urban environment. I’m a rural boy. I feel like eastern washington is so much like the state of Nebraska. Great, wholesome people with a great work ethic. Love athletics, and love football.”
On Nebraska football coach Mike Riley:
“I do know Mike Riley. He was at Oregon State when I was at Oregon. So, even thought we were rivals, I did respect him and the job he did there. I was surprised when he left there to come here. I thought he would do really well.
“As we speak right now, he’s my football coach. And I’m going to support him and hope for some victories here in the latter part of the season.”
What he looks for in a coach: A good teacher, above board ethically. Records, ambitions. Fit in the community. “A head coach at USC may not work at Oregon State.
“If we do go about making changes in any sport, that’s the most important decision i can make. They’re the ones who are literally in charge on a daily basis with those student-athletes.”
On his age and previous retirement:
“After about two years, I really started to miss it. I missed the competition. Anyone who actually plays the game, your pilot light never goes out. On gameday, there’s no better thrill. But most importantly, I missed the student athlete. I miss developing student-athletes at a critical time.
“We plan to be in this for a long time.”
On his relationship with coaches:
“I want them to know I’m here for them, and they have access to me.”
On if he was in the stadium for Nebraska’s loss to Ohio State:
“No, but I saw it.”
On Nebraska’s place in the landscape in college football:
“Nebraska’s been the hunted. And we’re not right now.”
“There’s no substitute for tradition and legacy, and Nebraska has that.”
“We should be in a position, in every sport, to compete for championships.”
On Mike Leach, the football coach he hired at Washington State:
“Mike Leach is a very good football coach. He has a style and a blueprint that is followed very closely. Mike is a very strict disciplinarian. And he’s a brilliant individual.”
“He’s done a remarkable job, and he’s been a great fit there.”
