They Just Call to Say 'I Thank You!'

 

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By Randy York  

Quick memo to Nebraska donors out there: Tonight, if you see a University of Nebraska number or an unknown number pop up on your home phone or on the big screen while watching your favorite TV show, go ahead and answer. You'll be glad you did. On the other end of the line may be a Husker student-athlete who's just calling to say "I thank you" ... for your love of Nebraska and for your support of the Athletic Department.

Period, end of story. But not necessarily end of conversation. You may recognize the name of the person you're talking to or you may not. Whatever the case, you will be talking to a team member competing in one of Nebraska's 23 varsity sports, and each has one compelling reason for you to pick up the phone. He or she simply would like to say thank you. There is no other motive and absolutely zero pressure.

More than 100 Husker student-athletes showed up Monday night, and at least 70 more will share their precious time Tuesday night, turning Nebraska's Athletic Department offices into our version of a call center.

It's always interesting to see how the public reacts when they're talking to a name they recognize, and Nebraska donors seemed surprised Monday night when they were talking - person-to-person - with All-Big Ten placekicker Brett Maher.

Fans seemed equally thrilled to be talking to almost any member of the Nebraska women's basketball team and especially Jordan Hooper and Lindsey Moore, who tweeted last night how much fun she had communicating with people who were so conversational.  

Yes, this is one student-athlete "task" that's easy to perform, thanking donors for all they do and getting to share a fan's perspective at the same time.

Tear'a Laudermill, a freshman basketball guard from Riverside, Calif., received comments on her quickness, and Mark Hilderbrand, a freshman hurdler on the track team from Gothenburg, Neb., talked  about how important good coaching is in an athlete's development.

There's a certain beauty in the big picture of it all. "When appreciative donors connect and get the essence of the call, our student-athletes gain as well - they gain a view of the support that exists for everything they do," said Jenni Puchalla, who coordinated the mass telephone thank-you effort for the Huskers Athletic Fund. "Our donors get it. Before they hang up from their surprise phone calls, a lot of them make sure they remind our student-athletes to study." 

Such calls have been a Nebraska athletic tradition for more than a decade, and they will continue to be for years to come. In today's world, it's rare to receive a call that says thank you, a call that connects and a call that asks nothing of the person on the other end except a few minutes of their time to listen to voices that they don't often get to hear from, even though they may know their jersey number.

Having said all that, I can only imagine what donors might think when the caller identifies himself as Mark Pelini, who has the same name as his head coach and walked on from the same high school, Cardinal Mooney in Youngstown, Ohio. For the record, Mark Pelini is Mark "Bo" Pelini's nephew, and really all he's doing is calling to say "thank you" ... for supporting Nebraska.

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