Geddes, O'Holleran Earn Nebraska Alumni Awards

Ex-Husker Geddes Proud to Be an Original Seahawk

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Two former University of Nebraska football student-athletes will receive awards Thursday night at UNL’s 2015 Alumni Awards Banquet that honors outstanding alumni, students and faculty. UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman and Nebraska Alumni Executive Director Shelley Zaborowski co-host the all-university celebration at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center.

Ken Geddes, an All-Big Eight linebacker and nose guard under Coach Bob Devaney from 1966-69, will be one of seven Nebraska Alumni Achievement Award winners. Jack O'Holleran, a two-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection as a wide receiver in 2003 and 2004, will be one of nine Nebraska Alumni Early Achiever Award winners.

Geddes graduated from UNL in 1971 in elementary education. He played eight years in the National Football League – five years with the Los Angeles Rams (1971-72-73-74-75) and three years with the Seattle Seahawks (1976-77-78). After working as a sales rep for General Electric and Campbell’s Soup Co., the Boys Town graduate returned to school to earn a master’s degree and work for the Seattle School District as a drug and alcohol intervention specialist and middle school counselor from 1989 to 2011.

O’Holleran Excelled in the Classroom and Professionally

O’Holleran, pictured below left, is a North Platte, Neb., native who received his UNL degree in Business Administration in 2005. He is the co-founder and global vice president of sales and business development for Aktana, a software analytic company headquartered in San Francisco. Named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll nine times as a Husker, O’Holleran helped his company grow from a four-person startup to a global leader in sales and marketing analytics. He has advised numerous startup companies and is a member for the Alchemist Accelerator in Silicon Valley. Recently, O’Holleran completed his first Ironman triathlon in Hokkaido, Japan.

Geddes, pictured below right, has been inducted into several Halls of Fame, including the Nebraska Football HOF, the Nebraska High School Sports HOF, Boys Town Sports HOF, and Omaha Sports HOF. Ken and his wife, Carole, are active with the Washington Cornhuskers Alumni in Kirkland, Wash., a Seattle suburb. Geddes retired after serving 21 years with the Seattle Public Schools, where he finished his career as a middle school counselor. Geddes, 66, worked for a nonprofit group and still serves as a substitute teacher on occasion.

“I knew celebrity status was fleeting,” Geddes said. “Most of your life is spent after football, so you have to live today for tomorrow.”

 

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