The Glory Years

Randy Gobel Joins Staff

Randy Gobel was hired and quickly became one of the significant strength and conditioning hires in history for Nebraska. In addition to his strength coaching abilities he had expertise in facility development that gave me a much needed help.

First Electronic Timing System

Coaches had to average two hand held 40 yard dash times before the invention of Electric timing. It was not possible to get an accurate time in the shorter 10 yard dash with hand held watches. The electronic timing system developed by the Nebraska engineer Dr. Mike Reilly.

Birth of Jay Robert Epley

Jane and I had our first child. Jay Robert Epley was born while I was at the NSCA National Conference in Atlanta. He would grow up to be a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach/Personal Trainer/Postural Restoration expert.

“Dynamic Strength Training” Published

Wm C. Brown published, my book, “Dynamic Strength Training for Athletes”.

I-Back Jeff Smith never missed a workout in his entire Nebraska career and was named Lifter of the Year after he gained 20 lbs. and increased his vertical jump 8”.

Athletic Training Table Established

Nebraska created an athletic training table for male athletes in the West Stadium making the space large enough for an academic study hall. Head Trainer George Sullivan oversaw it and Nutritional analysis was provided by a Registered Dietician, Julie Gallagher from the International Center for Sports Nutrition in Omaha which was headed by Dr. Ann Grandjean. Seating Capacity was 220 and 330 meals/day were served. Female athletes ate at a separate dining hall until 1988.

Birth of Jenna Shea Epley

Jane and I were blessed with a daughter – Jenna Shea Epley. She later received a Ph.D in Nursing Practice while having three sons with husband Chase Beideck who now is a strength coach for Nebraska Track and Tennis.

West Stadium Expansion Completed

The West Stadium Strength Complex was expanded connecting the training table on the South end of the West stadium with the Strength Complex on the North end. The Husker Power office was in a trailer in the parking lot north of the stadium until construction was completed. The new space, including storage hallways and office space, was 30,000 sq. ft.

Curtis Cotton Sets Record

Curtis Cotton a defensive back won the Lifter of the Year Award. Curtis was one of the strongest players in history with the hang clean record of 812 points for lifting 406 lbs. 812 is the highest index for any lift every by a Husker.

The Ring That Changed Everything

This ring put Nebraska back on track after falling from the top ten. In 1990 the wheels fell off for Nebraska football.

A 9-3 record doesn’t sound bad for most programs but finishing out of the top 10 after twenty straight years caused some serious finger pointing. Many players had bad attitudes on the team and punishment didn’t seem to help. Coach Osborne was out of town recruiting when I held up “the ring” but at first the I didn’t say anything and just held the ring. The room got very quiet then I said, “I have a plan to help you earn a Championship ring but I need your help. We need to make some changes and they have to come from you.”

“Starting tomorrow you come to train because you want to, if you choose not to come, don’t come back. If you miss more than once you’re done there will be no more punishment for missing lifting or running.” Nebraska was averaging 40 players missing the workout each day. A few players got to the point they were choosing the punishment rather than doing the workout. Yelling at the players was not working and punishing them didn’t work. The only way for the program to work is for the players to want to do things right. Testing at the conclusion of the six week winter conditioning program usually produced 15-18 new school records each year. This time the players broke 78 school records. No one had ever seen this kind of improvement before. The freshmen in that meeting 1/17/91 continued to work hard through their careers and won a national championship ring their senior year after four straight Big Eight championships. The Nebraska players went 6500 workouts but lost two players. Nebraska developed great unity and a tremendous attitude and their success on the field was unmatched over the next few years winning three national championships in a four year period.

Penalty Points and Unity Council

Coach Osborne asked me to come up with a way to maintain the discipline the players had demonstrated during the winter program. I developed a penalty point system for football players that was patterned after the system used in conjunction with a person’s drivers license. One point for missing a workout, three for missing a practice. If a player accumulated 3 points they had to see the Head Coach. Their parents were notified if they got 4 points and they missed a game if they got to 5 points.

The problem was that it was such an honor to be in Coach Osborne’s office with him that it didn’t work like punishment when a player got to 3 points.

This led to the development of the Unity Council by Dr. Jack Stark the next year.

The council was made up of players from each position. Players with too many penalty points would go before the Unity Council to explain themselves. The council would decide which players would need to miss a game and what punishment would be used.

Kevin Coleman Joins Staff

Kevin Coleman was the National Shot Put Champion in 1992 and 1993. Kevin was one of the strongest athletes in Nebraska history. He became a member of the Husker Power Strength and Conditioning Staff following his tremendous track career. He later married Courtney Carter who was Nebraska’s first female strength coach.

Bob Devaney Retires as AD

Bob Devaney served as Nebraska Athletic Director from 1967 to 1993 and was replaced by Bill Byrne who served as Athletic Director from 1993 to 2002.

Bob Devaney retired as Athletic Director but the strength an conditioning industry will always be grateful for him taking a chance hiring the first college strength coach when no other athletic director would.

Nebraska Hall of Fame

I was named to the Nebraska Hall of Fame with the Lyell Bremser Merit Award and received a 25 year watch from UNL Chancellor Graham Spanier.

Performance Team Established

Athletic Director Bill Byrne allowed me to create the Performance Team to oversee 23 sports with a staff of 20 and a budget of 1.3 million. The budget included the Training Table which I termed the Performance Buffet and assembled 9 nutrition staff including Dave Ellis as the first full time Nutritionist in college athletics in 1994.

The 1:16 Championship Motivation

During the summer conditioning program I had Randy Gobel put 1:16 seconds on the game clock each workout and added an extra minute and sixteen seconds of work to the summer program to motivate the players. The extra work wasn’t much but it served as a reminder they needed to close the deal if they ever got that close to winning a national championship again. This tactic worked as the Huskers were unbeatable in the fourth quarter the next year and came from behind to win the national championship over Miami. They also won another national rushing title.

Mike Arthur Coach of the Year

Mike Arthur was named the National Strength and Conditioning Coach of the-Year by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coach’s Association.

First Half Rack Created

I created the half rack with Rick Lewis of Wynmor which led to the development of the first Half Rack. The Half Rack is now made by several companies but Jeff Connor of Power Lift made the Half Rack the most economical rack for schools across the nation.

The Half Rack features two posts instead of the traditional four posts.

Performance Pyramid Created

Mike Arthur and I created the Performance Pyramid which features Belief and Unity as it’s cornerstones. Legendary Basketball coach John Wooden was famous for making a Performance Pyramid. This one features all the components necessary to “Make the Play”.

Husker Power Locks were Developed

Husker Power Locks were developed at Nebraska to have a durable but fast way to secure Olympic plates. They are guaranteed for life.

Power Lift Rises & a Visit from Moses

Jeff Connor creates Power Lift equipment and asks me to endorse the new line. Powerlift.com Power Lift quickly becomes the top equipment for colleges and high school strength programs. The Half Rack developed at Nebraska, becomes the most popular rack made in America.

Rodger DeGarmo was hired as the Husker Power technician for Olympic lifts after assisting with the Olympics Games in Atlanta and headed up the Bob Devaney Sports Center strength training program and facilities.

Charles Heston stops by to see the world famous strength
complex.

Tressa Thompson Shot Put Champion

Tressa Thompson won the 1997 Indoor National Shot Put Championship, the 1997 Outdoor and 1998 Outdoor National Shot Put Championship for Nebraska.

Tom Osborne Retires as Coach

January 2 – Tom Osborne retires from coaching after posting 255 wins and three national championships. During Tom’s retirement speech he mentioned the Husker Power program. Osborne said, “There was significant amount of innovation here. As you know Boyd Epley was the first fulltime strength coach. And that was something that came after two 6-4 seasons where Bob Devaney was pretty receptive to new ideas. So I took Boyd in there and said to Bob, this guy says he can make us better and Bob was willing to listen then Boyd did his part. We started an off season program and a strength and conditioning program that really led to some very good things. I think we did a better job of developing people than most anybody around the country. And it was very meaningful.”

Named Top 100 Football Influencer

I was very honored to be named as one of the top 100 persons to most influence college football in the 20th century by Lindy’s National Football Annual.

The Cook Pavilion gets new Field Turf field. One of the first in the entire nation to have it.

Cookie belcher sets the Basketball Index record at 2386 points and Nicole Kubik scores the best
for women at 1913.

Nebraska Hammer Thrower, Melissa Price set an All Sport record for women on the Squat with 345 lbs. for 563 points.

National Recognition and New Milestones

American Football Monthly magazine gave me the title of “The Godfather of Strength and Conditioning” Phoenix College weight room.

Jon Clanton became the first Husker to score over 1000 points and any of the six performance tests. His 1018 for his 3.97 Pro Agility Run remains the best ever on any test for a Husker.

Push Pull Circuit and Leadership Changes

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. Jon Clanton became the first Husker to score over 1000 points and any of the six performance tests. His 1018 for his 3.97 Pro Agility Run remains the best ever on any test for a Husker.