N Club 2018-19 Year in Review

The 2018-19 school year brought many changes to the N Club. Integrated with the Nebraska Athletics Life Skills department since 2013, the administration and operations of the N Club moved to the Huskers Athletic Fund in the spring of 2018. Under the direction of the N Club’s new Executive Director Mike Dobbs and Huskers Athletic Fund staff members Leslie Bargen, Mattie Fowler and Tierra Williams, the N Club continued to provide meaningful events to further strengthen letterwinners’ connections to the University, Nebraska Athletics, current student-athletes, and other letterwinners. 

Nancy Metcalf (Volleyball) & Sarah Sasse-Kildow (Golf) joined the N Club Advisory Council. The N Club Advisory Council continued to assist and support the N Club throughout the year. The N Club offered several social events, championship reunions and induction ceremonies during the 2018-19 year. To begin the year, Huskers Athletic Fund staff members attended the annual National Letterwinner Association Conference in East Lansing, Michigan, which provided valuable insights on strategies to best serve letterwinner alumni and current student-athletes.

Nebraska Athletics and the N Club celebrated six teams in the fall of 2018 through the annual Weekend of Champions reunions, honoring teams in decade anniversaries for historical and national athletic achievements through private receptions and in-game recognitions. Teams honored included the 1988 Women’s College World Series Softball Team, 1998 NCAA Final Four Volleyball Team, 1998 Women’s College World Series Softball Team, 2008 NCAA Final Four Volleyball Team, 2008 NCAA Wrestling Fourth Place Finish, and 2009 NCAA Wrestling Fourth Place Finish.

Two letterwinner induction ceremonies were held in West Memorial Stadium, one on November 11th and the other on March 31st, to induct a total of 135 student-athletes into the N Club. First-time letterwinners received their Nebraska letter jackets, which were presented by a coaching staff member, sport administrator and a prominent letterwinner alum. Parents, athletic staff and N Club Advisory Council members attended the events, which included special video presentations, keynote addresses from N Club members Charlie Colón (Baseball) and Jordan Burroughs (Wrestling) and a catered lunch.

The N Club Lounge saw hundreds of letterwinners enter its doors throughout Scott Frost’s first year as Head Coach for the Nebraska Football team.  The N Club Lounge, located in the southeast corner of Memorial Stadium, offered an opportunity for letterwinners to gather and connect prior to football games throughout the season. Over 300 N Club members participated in the N Club tunnel walk during the September 29th game against Purdue. Letterwinners lined the tunnel walk on Tom Osborne field as the Huskers took the field against the Boilermakers. Athletic Director Bill Moos addressed the group prior to the start of the game. Bill Moos also hosted three luncheons throughout the year with letterwinners in Lincoln, Omaha, and Grand Island.

Many teams held special alumni reunions throughout the year including the Swimming and Diving Alumni Weekend in September, the Men’s Basketball annual Legends Weekend in February, the Women’s Basketball Alumni Weekend in February, and the Baseball Alumni Weekend in May.

This year’s N Club community service project was assisting in the collection of donations for the Red Cross at the Spring Game on April 13. Together nearly 50 letterwinners along with current student-athletes and athletic department staff collected donations prior to the start of the Spring Game raising funds for flood victims across the state of Nebraska. The University of Nebraska Athletic Department assisted in raising over $160,000 to help the state’s flood victims.

On May 1, nearly 100 letterwinners and guests participated in the N Club Golf Scramble held at Quarry Oaks Golf Course outside of Ashland, Neb. Letterwinners from a number of sports, including football, golf, baseball, gymnastics, swimming, and track & field enjoyed the opportunity to meet and golf alongside fellow letterwinners, while competing for a number of hole prizes and team awards on a nice, chilly spring day.

Throughout the year, N Club members received athletic department and N Club updates via Husker Happenings, the electronic N Club newsletter, featuring upcoming events, student-athlete and alumni spotlights, athletic and campus articles and special announcements/videos from the athletic department. The N Club also launched a Twitter account that provides updates and information surrounding the N Club - @HuskerNClub

We look forward to an exciting 2019-2020 year with the N Club!