Alumni Spotlight - Phil Cahoy

Name: Phil Cahoy
Sport: Gymnastics
Years Lettered: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983

As a four-year Nebraska men’s gymnastics letterwinner with many accomplishments, including winning four individual national gymnastics championship titles, being part of four consecutive NCAA national championship teams, earning 10 All-American honors, and being inducted into the Nebraska Athletics’ Hall of Fame this fall, what do you consider your greatest accomplishment at Nebraska?

My greatest individual accomplishment at Nebraska was graduating from medical school at UNMC. Everything I achieved athletically was great, but I knew I was going to have to be better academically in order to make sure life after sports was fruitful.

What are your fondest Nebraska memories both inside and outside the gym?

My fondest memory at UNL was spending time in and out of the gym with my childhood friends and teammates Chuck Chmelka and Jim Hartung. We would practice together in the gym then drive to western Nebraska to hunt. We still do the hunting trips to this day.

Serving as a seasoned surgeon in Central Nebraska, what transferrable skills carried over from your time as a student-athlete to the work you do now and how did Nebraska help you build a successful academic platform that allowed you to excel throughout your undergraduate career and medical school?

The thing that I learned from being an athlete that helped me most academically and in my orthopedic practice today is time management. Not only do you have to work hard, but you have to work efficiently. There is only so much time in the day, so don’t waste it needlessly.

Nebraska Athletics has been an integral part of your family for decades with you father (Phil) serving as a coach for the men’s gymnastics program and two of your sons, Kevin and Steven, currently competing for Nebraska’s track and field team. How does this shared experience influence your connection to Nebraska and overall family bond? 

To me the University of Nebraska is a family affair. My daughter Courtney graduated from UNL and just got into medical school at UNMC. Steven and Kevin were heavily recruited by other schools and chose UNL. Hopefully they will go to dental or medical school here someday, too. I’m working on my youngest son, Carson, to make sure he follows in their footsteps. Four for four going to Nebraska would be a dream come true.  

“There is no place like Nebraska” rings true for many student-athletes and letterwinners. What does this saying mean to you?

I live the phrase “There is no place like Nebraska”. I live here, work here, and raised my family here. If there is a better place, I haven’t found it.

What is one thing you’d like to share with letterwinner alumni you haven’t mentioned?

Recently I was inducted into the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame, and I would like to thank all the people around the state that supported me and the UNL gymnastics team through those incredible years. Go Big Red!