Schmahl Celebration of Life Set for Saturday, Aug. 8th

The Last Train: Blogs by Jeff Schmahl

Brandon Meier’s Video Tribute to Jeff

Tom Shatel on Journey to Remember

Randy York’s N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

Nebraska legendary volleyball coach Terry Pettit says good friend Jeff Schmahl was passionate about three things – his faith, his family, and whatever else was in front of him at the moment. The HuskerVision pioneer and creative force behind Memorial Stadium’s incomparable Tunnel Walk, Schmahl died July 14 of pancreatic cancer in New York City. He was 58. Jeff and his wife, Maria, moved from Texas to New York to help son Zach, their only child, launch his cookie business, Schmackary's, a successful enterprise that has earned Zach the title of Cookie Mogul of Times Square.

Family, friends, co-workers and others appreciated Schmahl’s exceptional vision and creative follow-through while supporting Nebraska Athletics. That’s why there will be a “Celebration of Jeff Schmahl’s Life” on Saturday, August 8, at 2 p.m. The service will be held on Club Level 3 inside Nebraska’s West Memorial Stadium.

Pettit convinced Schmahl to blog about his thoughts during the 17 months he bravely battled cancer. “Jeff appreciated people who wanted to do things as well as they could, whether they were members of the HuskerVision team, coaches, administrators or the hundreds of students that he mentored at the University of Nebraska,” Pettit said. “It was impossible to enter into a brief conversation with Jeff because he had the most important quality that all creative people have. He was curious, and he wanted to gain insight into extraordinary people and events.”

Participating in the Shadows of Nebraska’s Tunnel Walk 

That innate trait rang true to Schmahl’s own insights and experiences. Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst, for example, met Schmahl last fall when he returned to Lincoln to celebrate the Huskers’ 1994 national championship football team, which became the first-ever team to experience what many consider to be the grandest entrance in college football.

Last fall, prior to Nebraska's nationally televised home-game kickoff against Miami, Schmahl participated in the re-launch of the Tunnel Walk he once directed. But true to his nature, he and a former colleague stayed in the middle of the pack. Neither wanted to be noticed as part of something primarily designed for the players and their coaches.

A Grand Island native, Schmahl was a sportscaster at Lincoln's KOLN/KGIN-TV. Following his first year as Nebraska's Director of Athletics in 1993, Byrne asked Schmahl to spearhead and dramatize the theatrical entrance of a football juggernaut headed by Tom Osborne.

Two decades later, Nebraska's Tunnel Walk is ingrained in the tradition of 340 consecutive home-game sellouts. Hearing the roar of frenzied fans rocking the stadium while HuskerVision cameras focus on players bursting through the locker room doors and into the tunnel on their way to Memorial Stadium’s fabled turf is the linchpin of the Husker game day experience.

The Last Train Blogs Reflect Schmahl’s Love for Life

Not knowing Schmahl well, Eichorst went online to discover The Last Train, Jeff’s incisive blog series that paints a reassuring mental picture of his love for life and an honest, straightforward snapshot of his impending death. Eichorst found himself reading The Last Train blogs one after another. The first night that Eichorst read Schmahl’s blogs turned into morning before he turned off the light. Many of Schmahl’s friends and co-workers were equally inspired.

The content morphs into a conversation between a loving but dying man and the thoughts he feels compelled to share with his family, friends and anyone else who might be interested. In my mind, Schmahl’s messages are worthy of a small book that I would buy. His honest humor and wide-ranging wisdom would be meaningful and comforting for any spirit-seeking soul. True to his character, Schmahl did not focus on his pioneering role in big screen technology and creative content, choosing instead to zero in on the little things that become bigger and more important.

“Many of our conversations took place on the golf course, but in order to finish the round in a timely fashion we had ‘The Jeff Schmahl Rule,’” Pettit said. “Jeff was allowed to ask only one question per hole. His enthusiasm for conversation meant that one question led to several others, and while he had the ability to play good golf while talking about the intricacies of the West Coast Offense, the rest of us didn’t.”

Schmahl Grew Up in a Family that Prepared Him to Excel

Like others who have benefited from Schmahl’s intelligence, candor and compassion, Pettit said the eloquence of his blogs surprised the one who wrote them. “It shouldn’t have surprised Jeff,” Pettit said. “He grew up in a family that appreciated books and language. When he was a sports anchor, he had to tell a story in less than 30 seconds.”

Schmahl (pictured below with his wife, Maria) has a group of friends that included Lee Barfknecht, the Omaha World Herald’s award-winning sportswriter/columnist and Pettit, a published author on coaching, leadership and teambuilding. With his home and business in Ft. Collins, Colo., Pettit continues his public speaking while teaching the characteristics of successful teams and businesses. Schmahl sent rough drafts of The Last Train blogs to Barfknecht and Pettit before posting them on his website. “The suggestions we made were minimal,” Pettit said. “Jeff’s instincts for a good story and his willingness to share intimate details of his family and medical challenges were compelling.”

A Collaborative Leader, Schmahl Followed Byrne

Pettit and his wife, Anne, will attend Schmahl’s Celebration of Life service in August. As a close friend, Pettit makes an important point about how much Jeff Schmahl loved Nebraska. “When he left for a position at Texas A&M, it was because Bill Byrne recognized his talent and offered him the opportunity to expand his responsibilities,” Pettit said.

Schmahl valued collaborative leadership, but the culture at that time was heading in a different direction. “Jeff’s heart was never far from the University of Nebraska, where he competed as a student-athlete in tennis,” Pettit said. “He also went on to have a tremendous impact on the presentation and marketing of Nebraska Athletics.

“I wish I could say that I can accept Jeff’s death as gracefully as he did,” Pettit said. “For me, there’s a hole where once there was a man who was the most welcoming person I ever met…I miss him greatly.”

Editor’s note: Huskers.com also will publish an N-Sider column featuring remembrances from Schmahl’s teammates, who worked closely with him, respected his passion, and embraced his style of leadership that prepared student workers for professional opportunities that Nebraska helped create.

 

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