ESPN: Nebraska Altered College Football Landscape
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In the vast world of business, efficiency is never an accident, and in the widely expanding world of strength and conditioning, productivity is always the result of a commitment to excellence built on twin pillars – intelligent planning and focused effort. The Ndamukong Suh Strength and Conditioning Center reflects Nebraska football’s revolutionary reputation and reinforces its leadership role.
For decades, Nebraska was considered the nation’s leader in strength and conditioning training. “Boyd Epleyis a genius,” Nebraska Head Football Strength and Conditioning Coach Mark Philippsaid. “Boyd made Nebraska the mecca of strength and conditioning and was pivotal in creating a culture of dominant athletes. That’s why he's called the godfather of strength and conditioning.” That's also why Epley remains as relevant as ever. This week, ESPN published a major profile on how Epley led the charge to revolutionize strength and conditioning and in the process, alter the landscape for college football.
Because Epley fused elements of Olympic weight lifting, power lifting and body building into strength and conditioning, coaches and administrators began to realize that the weight room is an important launch pad to win national championships. The biggest proof point was Nebraska’s 60-3 record and three national championship run (1993-94-95-96-97) in a 5-year stretch under Tom Osborne. Osborne was also the pitch man who convinced Bob Devaney to hire Epley as the first college football strength and conditioning coach in 1969, the season before Devaney led the Huskers to back-to-back national titles in 1970-71.
When Devaney hired Epley to be a trailblazer in an untested field, his logic was based on Osborne’s endorsement. “I had no idea that strength training would become such an essential component in our athletic programs or other athletic programs across the world,” Devaney said later.
Boyd Epley, left, and Mike Arthur, middle, make a point for 2015 Nebraska Football Lifter of the Year Jack Gangwish.
Husker Power Helped Others Value Strength Training
“Husker Power was a very successful national brand,” said Philipp, who’s only 32 but knows and understands historic Husker roots. “Nebraska made a major contribution to the entire industry, helping everyone realize that performance on the field reflects the strength and conditioning training put into it off the field.”
The genius tag that Philipp used to describe Epley includes his highly productive working relationship with Mike Arthur, who served as Boyd’s assistant for more than 25 years at Nebraska. Arthur is Nebraska’s Director of Strength and Conditioning Research, a new position that reports to Steve Waterfield, Nebraska’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for Performance and Strategic Research. When Epley and Arthur reconnected, they wasted no time making use of the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory (NAPL), a first-of-its-kind on-campus facility. All Husker sports programs now use the NAPL for performance testing.
This week’s finishing stages on a major facelift inside the North Stadium are tied to athletic performance. “We want our weight room to be a one-stop shop,” Philipp said. “We took everything out, so we can double up on what we’re putting back in.”
Philipp Marvels at Nebraska's Speed to Solve a Problem
Philipp (wearing red above) is a former USC and Oregon State football strength coach who marvels at the speed Nebraska moves when it comes to solving a problem.“Nebraska wants to be on the cutting edge of training,” he said. “Every program in the country is looking for new ways to maximize performance and output. The weight room design and equipment helps enhance training. To get the most out of training, we felt our weight room setup limited our ability to maximize training time.”
The objectives to improve the facility ranged from a lack of efficiency for workout times to wearing lifting shoes. Components considered in the weight room’s new layout included accommodating a larger number of athletes per group and the time and space required to enhance performance and reduce the risk of injury.
The layout allows Philipp, plus associate football strength coach Tim Rabas (far left) and Husker assistant strength coaches Willie Jones, Andrew Ervin and Jamie Belt to help redesign and implement a program that accommodates each individual athlete with the most beneficial exercises in an efficient time frame.
Make no mistake. Those five strength coaches spend more face-to-face time with Nebraska football student-athletes year-round than anyone else. “We have to be the guys that bring the energy into this complex every day,” Philipp said. “If we’re dead, they’re dead. If we’re energetic and work hard, they’re energetic and work hard."
As a Player, Philipp Was a Bull Rusher, Disruptive Force
Anyone who watches the upbeat atmosphere inside the Suh Complex, on Tom Osborne Field, or inside the Hawks Championship Center, knows who’s leading the charge to create an enthusiastic, effective and competitive training environment – Mark Philipp, who grew up in a tough neighborhood in San Bernardino, Calif., before becoming a first-team all-conference defensive tackle at Southern Illinois.
Philipp’s collegiate bio defined him as “a wide-bodied run stuffer” who demonstrates “bull rush ability” and is considered “a disruptive force”. Yes, Mark Philipp was your classic overachiever. The oldest of four boys in his family, he mentored his brothers and helped their cousins earn football scholarships at USC, UCLA, Arizona, Notre Dame and Miami. “I taught them everything that I knew so they had a chance to go to bigger places and make a bigger impact.”
Name the school and Mark Philipp, who spent four seasons under Mike Riley at Oregon State and two seasons as an assistant strength coach at USC, will inspire you to play hard and make the most of the experience. Obviously, Nebraska became a dream destination for Philipp’s motivational gifts and inherent understanding of strength and conditioning.
Philipp: Coaching Requires the Ability to Teach and to Demonstrate
Despite his reluctance to talk about himself, Philipp acknowledged what players keep telling the media about his influence. “I really feel that you’re a failure as a coach if you can’t teach and can’t demonstrate,” he said. “Coaches can go two ways. You can come in and swing the hammer and say ‘this is the way I want it done!’ My approach is different. I’m here to show you the right way and to help you learn what you need to learn. That’s why we’re here. Players are going to be a reflection of me and our staff and we’re going to be a reflection of them. I want to make sure what they see is positive and when they get tired, we’re going to pump them up. And if they’re doing something wrong, we’re going to tell them how they can fix it.”
Time constraints and limitations are daily factors in workouts, especially in the summer when student-athletes have jobs and attend classes. “The demands on student-athletes are a lot different now than they were 20 years ago,” Philipp said, acknowledging other demands, such as study table, life skills and film study.
“The platform is one-dimensional,” Philipp said. “To use the dumbbells, you have to walk over to another area. Same problem with pulldown machines. You can’t program 45 guys to use six machines.” The facelift covers the bases with equipment that includes technique pulling blocks, the result of a thorough process to reorganize and maximize while accommodating student-athlete needs and enhancing their performance and reducing the risk of injury.
Nebraska’s Historic List of Firsts in Strength and Conditioning
Nine years ago, Epley oversaw the design and construction of the Osborne Athletic Complex and the Hawks Championship Center before leaving to work at the National Strength and Conditioning Association in Colorado Springs. A desire to help restore Nebraska’s national prominence triggered his decision to move back to his home state.
Nebraska was the first NCAA school to have a paid strength and conditioning coach, the first to lift weights in-season, the first to hold an official summer conditioning class for student-athletes and the first to offer a degree for strength coaching. The National Strength and Conditioning Association that Epley founded has become the nation’s largest strength and conditioning research association in Colorado Springs.
“Boyd Epley and Mike Arthur are super productive,” Philipp said. “They know what to do and what not to do. They wear big shoes and did everything possible to maximize workouts. They helped us go from 20 platforms to 40. It’s exactly what we needed.” Philipp is fairly certain that Ndamukong Suh (pictured above) will be very proud to see the changes in the strength and conditioning facility that carries his name. To be sure, Philipp is sending photos.
The Epley-Arthur tandem also is responsible for all Husker sports conducting performance testing in the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory, located in the expanded East Stadium. Student-athletes from all 24 sports use force plates and motion capture video to screen for possible postural imbalances during performance testing.
For the first time, school performance records will be set in the NAPL, swiftly and safely. The future looks very bright for Husker student-athletes…in all sports.
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