Pepin Named Big 12 Men?s Indoor Coach of the Year

DALLAS, Texas - Nebraska Head Track and Field Coach Gary Pepin earned his 12th conference coach of the year award Thursday when he was named Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year by the Big 12 Conference. The award is the fifth consecutive men’s indoor accolade for the Huskers’ head coach and seventh in the nine-year history of the conference.

Pepin, in his 25th season at NU and 22nd as both men’s and women’s head coach, led the Husker men’s team to its fifth straight Big 12 indoor title, as well as eighth in the conference’s nine-year history, last weekend at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Indoor Track. The all-time winningest coach in the history of the Big 12 Conference and former Big Eight Conference with 62 indoor and outdoor titles, Pepin also led the Nebraska women’s team to the conference indoor title for the second consecutive year.

Other Big 12 indoor track award winners included Baylor’s Clyde Hart (Women’s Head Coach of the Year), Colorado’s Brent Vaughn (Men’s Indoor Performer of the Year) and Renee Metivier (Women’s Indoor Performer of the Year), Missouri’s Trisa Nickoley (Women’s Freshman Indoor Performer of the Year) and Texas’ Leonel Manzano (Men’s Freshman Indoor Performer of the Year).

Nebraska turns its focus this week to the national scene, as it prepares for next week’s NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. The Huskers will send 27 athletes to this Saturday’s Iowa State NCAA Qualifier in Ames, Iowa, in an attempt to add a few last-minute qualifiers for the national meet. NU will also send men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams to the Alex Wilson Invitational NCAA qualifier in South Bend, Ind.