Designing Programs, Shaping Champions
Epley The Builder
Beyond the weight room, Boyd became a builder — of programs, facilities, and people. From designing new training spaces to mentoring the next generation of coaches, these years capture his vision for what strength and conditioning could become.
2000
Record Gains and National Recognition
Football players in Winter Conditioning gain 1120 lbs. of Lean Body Mass.
Mike Arthur and I were named as Executive Board Members for the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.
Tom Osborne asks me to participate in the Legends of the Game Video project.
The freshmen football players came to my house during fall camp for a bonding session with the Husker football coaches.
2001
Boyd Epley Strength Center Named
The Strength Center at Phoenix College in Phoenix, Arizona is named the Boyd Epley Strength Center. I attended there in 1966-67 and was part of two National Championships in Track.
2001
The “Godfather of Strength and Conditioning”
American Football Monthly magazine gave me the title of “The Godfather of Strength and Conditioning” Phoenix College weight room.
2002
Exclusive Transformer Equipment Built
Epley commissioned Rivers Metal of Lincoln, NE. to develop eighteen Transformers exclusively for Nebraska. Randy Gobel worked closely with their engineers and added wood platforms to give Nebraska a tremendous advantage in safety and efficiency. No other school in the nation has anything that compares to the Transformer.
2002
Push Pull Circuit and Leadership Shift
I worked with Hammer Strength to create the Push Pull Circuit for core strength.
Brendan Stai did 42 repetitions on the bench press with 225 lbs. to lead the all NFL prospects his senior year.
Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Byrne moves to Texas A&M and Steve Pederson is hired as Nebraska’s Athletic Director.
2002
Inducted into Hall of Fame
Mike Arthur and I were inducted into the first group of Strength Coaches elected to the USA Collegiate Strength Coaches Hall of Fame.
June 6, 2003
Promoted to Associate Athletic Director
I was promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Performance and Facilities Development to oversee the design and construction of the 10 million dollar Howard and Rhonda Hawks Championship Center and the 46 million dollar Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex. Athletic Director Steve Pederson said, “I am very pleased that Boyd accepted this challenge. With Boyd’s help we will layout plans for the future of this program in short order.”
Mike Arthur was promoted to Director of Performance to oversee the lifting programs for sports other than football and Bryan Bailey was promoted to Head Strength Coach for Football.
Pederson then asked Tommie Frazier and I to travel to 17 cities in three days with in a plane donated by former player Jim Pillen. Frazier was the fundraiser and I was along to explain the project features.
2003
First Female 30-Inch Vertical
The winner of the Lifter of the Year for each sport receives a trophy.
Peaches James became the first Nebraska female to jump over 30 inches.
2003
Warren Buffet gives me some tips
2004
Heisman Room Plan Presented
I was asked to present a plan to the department coaches to improve recruiting facilities and to create a Heisman Room which was made open to the public.
2004
Associate Athletic Director Award Received
In my first year as Associate AD, I was presented the Associate Athletic Director Award by the All American Football Foundation at a banquet in Chicago, Illinois.
2004
Herbie Husker Gets a Makeover
The Athletic Director asked me to come up with a more muscular mascot for Nebraska Athletics so I asked my son J.R. to draw a new Herbie. The old Herbie was patterned after a caricature of Don Bryant. The plump mascot was not conducive to recruiting muscular athletes. During the time when the mascot was being made I released announcements that Herbie was in training. This was the brain child of Chris Anderson, the Sports Information Director. Press releases showed Herbie on the Stairmaster, running stadium steps and lifting weights with the football players.
Herbie was also shown getting a haircut at the Clipper barber shop in downtown Lincoln. Randy Gobel and John Ingram even created a Herbiemobile for him for him to drive into Memorial Stadium.
2004
The Path to Athletic Power is Published
My book The Path to Athletic Power, published by Human Kinetics explains the principles behind the Nebraska strength program and tells some behind the scenes stories.
2004
Dave Rimington Academic Hall of Fame
Dave Rimington is the first Husker named to the Academic Hall of Fame. Nebraska leads the nation in Academic All-Americans but Rimington is the first Nebraska athlete in the Academic Hall of Fame. The award was presented at Bill Walton’s home in San Diego.
2004
35 Years of Championship Tradition
From what I can tell every Nebraska football player that stayed for four years during my 35 year career as the Head Strength Coach for Football 1969-2004: attended at least one bowl game and won at least one championship ring.
August 10, 2004
Hawks Center Groundbreaking
Ground Breaking ceremonies were held on the exact site where Schulte Field House once stood.
Athletic teams had to scramble during the winter months as indoor training facilities were not available during construction. The Hawks Center was planned to be completed first to provide a 120 yard indoor field with lighting up to 100 foot candles.
Steve Pederson asked me to create plans for the new project to show at the Board of Regents meeting. I also gave presentations to The Nebraska Foundation staff, the Nebraska Alumni Staff, the Directors Club, and the Husker Power Club. Also included was a presentation to the entire athletic department staff.
2004
Schulte Field House and Baumann came down to make way for the Osborne Athletic Complex and Hawks Center
July 28, 2006
Joined NSCA as Director of Coaching Performance
I left Nebraska after 37 years to become Director of Coaching Performance for the National Strength and Conditioning Association headquartered in Colorado Springs. Athletic Director Steve Pederson says, “When you think about the world of athletics, there are not many people who can say they are true pioneers in their field. Boyd took something and really made it into a heck of a profession. We got an edge in the 70’s that others didn’t have in that our players lifted weights in a consistent organized manner.”
I retired from Nebraska and started at the NSCA August 1, 2006. After speaking at the Nebraska State NSCA clinic it got me thinking seriously about helping strength coaches again, so I moved to the NSCA headquarters in Colorado Springs and developed a Coaching Performance program geared to help high school athletes.
The Osborne Athletic Complex and Hawks Center
When the project was first announced skyboxes were not part of the 50-million-dollar plan. For an additional one million the architects felt Nebraska couldn’t’pass up the opportunity to include rooms with a view to the field.
John Sampson Construction and John Sampson himself made the project spectacular. Brad Muehling a former offensive center was the project manager for the university and kept a close eye on the budget and the building regulations.
When I presented a plan to Pederson for over 200 displays to be in place by August 2006 when the complex was set to open. Pederson chose not to approve the plan because money was tight and moved forward with only a couple of displays. Fans and former players later complained to the media that the building lacked photos of past players, All-Americans, and Championship teams.
