Now?s the Time to Strike Right Balance in College Athletics

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On his monthly Nebraska Athletics Radio Show Tuesday night, Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said there is no better time in the history of college athletics, in terms of the economy and the governance structure, to take a deep breath and review all the important positions.

“So many of those positions are interconnected, whether it’s academics, student-athlete health/safety welfare, recruiting, signing day, camps, transfers, staff sizes or duties,” Eichorst said on the Husker Sports Network. Since so many are connected, “we need to look at them in a holistic, comprehensive way and not in a piecemeal way.

“There’s a lot of noise out there,” Eichorst told a statewide listening audience. “We’re trying to get folks to take the emotion and competitive spirit out of the equation at this point and allow us to do our work.” The Big Ten Conference’s only voting member on the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee, Eichorst shared thoughts that were discussed in last week’s two-day meeting in Indianapolis. “We’ve started to put stuff down on paper,” Eichorst said before adding that ideas for reform and potential legislative packages won’t be announced until summer."

Huskers’ Riley a Member of American Football Coaches’ Executive Committee

This past month, Todd Berry replaced Grant Teaff as the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). “We had a pleasant conversation with Todd last week,” Eichorst said. “Mike Riley is on the executive committee of AFCA, an organization that has been very supportive of our initiatives and efforts to change and enhance the game to make it better.”

Eichorst said the oversight committee had two long conversations with NCAA Vice President Oliver Luck, who oversees NCAA regulation, from academics to eligibility and enforcement. “Oliver has had great experiences with college student-athletes,” Eichorst said. “He also has a son playing at the highest level in the NFL, so Oliver is really helpful in formulating our opinions."

Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby serves as the chair of the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee, which includes 12 voters. “There are more areas of commonality than not,” Eichorst said, adding that the areas getting the most attention are recruiting, signing and camps. “As it relates to fundamental fairness and academics, I think we’re all aligned to student-athlete safety and welfare.

"In a world of large institutions, both public and private, there are different missions and initiatives in different parts of the country and different resource areas," Eichorst said. "You’re going to have a little bit of this and a little bit of that, so you have to be strong in leadership and get to a better place.

“The game is as healthy as it has been in a long, long time,” Eichorst said. “It’s safer and we can provide a better balance to our student-athletes and better balance to our coaches. They have to recruit, coach, mentor and game-plan. There’s a limited amount of time in the day to do that, so we’re trying to strike the balance and get it right.”

Among other topics on his radio show, Eichorst shared his thoughts about a number of recent team highlights, plus concussion protocol and the Nebraska Athletic Department’s recent Diversity and Inclusion Summit for all Husker student-athletes, coaches, administration and staff. Nebraska Bowling Coach Bill Straub, Husker Softball Coach Rhonda Revelle and NU softball captain/student leader Mattie Fowler shared their thoughts with studio host Greg Sharpe on Tuesday night’s other radio show segments.

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N-Sider Archive

Tuesday Night’s Radio Segments

Shawn Eichorst: Radio Segment 1

Bill Straub: Radio Segment 2

Rhonda Revelle: Radio Segment 3

Mattie Fowler: Radio Segment 4