AUDIO: Final Bulldog Coaches Show of 2022-23
SEWARD, Neb. – Director of Athletics Devin Smith joined the final Bulldog Coaches Show of the athletic year to wrap up 2022-23. Smith chatted about some of the highlights of the past year and discussed what’s on the horizon in Bulldog Nation. Once again, Parker Cyza of 104.9 Max Country served as the host of the weekly coaches show.
Q&A with Director of Athletics Devin Smith
Q: 11 Concordia teams placed in the top four of the GPAC. The Concordia Athletics program finished second in the all-sports trophy this year. What did you think of this athletic year? What were some of the main headlines and storylines that stuck with you?
DS: As you review and assess what we did throughout the year, honestly, I thought there was a gap in performance. I thought we would do a little bit better here and there. But as I zoomed out and really looked at the whole picture and the challenges we had, I’m really pleased. I’m so excited to get second as a department in the GPAC All-Sports Standings. This is seven out of eight years that we’ve been either first or second. I think that really demonstrates the level of coaches, the outstanding student-athletes and the level of support we receive here at Concordia University Nebraska in many different departments. They elevate the student-athlete and shareholder experience. We have amazing facilities and we have big things on the horizon. I’m just so proud of our people and what they’ve done in the Bulldog Nation.
Q: I wanted to look back at some of the conference champions with women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, which continues to be the standard in the GPAC. Back in the fall, men’s soccer had a very cold championship game they played over in Hastings. Any thoughts on how those sports got it done this year and won conference titles?
DS: I think it says a lot about the head coaches and the coaching staffs. It’s sustainable. They’ve been here year after year, they’ve built it and been persistent and patient. They kept adding new faces and just kind of filled the holes. Coach (Jason) Weides with men’s soccer – I recruited him when I was the men’s soccer coach way back in the mid-90s. I don’t think he’s ever left. He’s been an amazing personality and has a great strategic eye and peaceful presence about himself. He does a great job recruiting in-state and internationally. I’m just so pleased for Jason and those kids for what they’ve done. You look at women’s indoor and outdoor track and what they’ve done to win multiple championships. They’ve kind of dethroned Doane and became the standard in women’s track. Coach (Matt) Beisel, (Ed) McLaughlin, (Mark) Samuels and (Ben) Hinckfoot keep doing a wonderful job. They really infuse spiritual development and faith formation within their coaching and through their recruiting. They bring in high quality student-athletes that are just a thrill to watch and be around because they’re joy-filled people.
Q: Every athletic year there are always new faces that come within the program and recruits that come into the programs. You also have new coaches that start as well. We mentioned Chase Clasen in wrestling, Brock Culler in softball, Freddie Myles, the first year for lifting sports, and Dylan Owens, the shooting sports coach. What were some of your thoughts on the first-year coaches and how they got their start in their first year.
DS: I look at all four and I try to come up with some type of theme. That goes along with our recruitment of them at the leadership level. I see a lot of positive energy. I see peace-filled people and joy-filled people and individuals that really connect with the department and the student-athletes they recruit and retain. That’s a great recruiting class right there. Just recently we added Nick Smith, the head coach of women’s soccer. We hired him this spring. I see another who fits in those themes. These are strong Christian people who are going to do great things for this university. Coach Clasen got third in the dual standings in the conference, as well as third in the tournament. He really flipped the level of success for wrestling. Coach Owens took over a program that was very successful and kept it rolling. They got third in the conference and third at nationals. Coach Myles took over the lifting sports program, which is powerlifting and weightlifting. He build a roster of 18-20 and now we’re looking at 30-plus. We have some great things on the horizon with lifting sports. He really bought in here early and had basically six months to recruit. He moved his family here basically in three weeks from California. He sold a business and sold a house and totally immersed himself in the Concordia family and Seward community. I just love it. Nick Smith, he turns around and within three weeks he’s here with his family. Coach Culler, he’s in transition. He's been back and forth from Grand Island, allowing his daughter to graduate and see out her career at Grand Island Central Catholic. They’re in the process of transitioning here. I’m thrilled for this department and university community of Seward because these are grand people. You’re not going to find many people like them. They’re going to close the gap and hopefully push us over the hump. We truly believe Bulldog Nation is nationally relevant. The reason why we are is because we compete with the top tier programs in the GPAC.
Q: I want to transition now to a big event that happened at Concordia earlier this year, back at the end of January – the Concordia Invitational Tournament. Concordia Universities around the country come to a location – this year it was in Nebraska – and play the CIT. That was an excellent event and an awesome atmosphere. The crowds were incredible. What were your thoughts on CIT and what that meant to the city of Seward and for Concordia University Nebraska?
DS: It’s one of the premier events that we host on this campus. It took us three years to bring it back. We had a couple years where the pandemic had it canceled and we really had a long runway to set this up on a tee. I think we swung for the fences and hit a grand slam. It brings the other Concordias into smalltown America, where we know how to put on an event and how to make sure the dog pound is packed. Friedrich Arena was wild. Our teams did an excellent job. We had men’s and women’s basketball and dance and cheer competitions. Three out of the four, we took home championships in regard to bragging rights for a whole year in the Concordia University System. You’re not going to find a better environment than the Concordia Invitational Tournament in Seward, Nebraska. I hope the community loved all the people that came in – the alums, friends of the university and visitors from other states. I hope they felt like that was a great show and a great weekend. It took us three years to get to it and three days to get them out of here. We held onto the trophies and sent everyone home packing.
Q: We are in the month of June and I want to look ahead a little bit. You were telling me about some facility upgrades and some different things going on around the athletic department. What can you share on that front?
DS: Right now we’re going through several enhancements within our athletic department. I’m going to start small, even though that price tag isn’t small. We had a hailstorm go through here last June and we’re getting things put back together. We’re going to have a brand new videoboard, scoreboard and stadium lights. We’re going to have something special coming this summer and into the fall. People are going to see some enhancements with Bulldog Stadium. We also have some other things we have to do on campus. We really have a vision for the future to bring baseball and softball back on campus and continue to enhance that student-athlete and shareholder experience. We want to close the gap for those programs. We have a vision to add a new soccer field, which would add opportunities for us to add lacrosse down the road. We also plan to have a new hitting center and some of the amenities that go with an outdoor sports complex. We’re really trying to ramp up the momentum around that. It’s a project that started about three or four years ago. It took a stall a little bit because of the pandemic and the change of university leadership at the president’s office level. We’re trying to create momentum and get this thing going. When we put this all together, this is going to be the premier athletic facility, including Walz, Bulldog Stadium and the PE Center and everything else in the great plains. We’ll be the place to be in small college athletics.
Q: What final thoughts do you have? I know there’s a Bulldog Golf scramble coming up later in July. Any thoughts on the lead-up to the fall season, which is right around the corner?
DS: We have the Bulldog Golf Classic at York Country Club on Friday, July 21. It fills up fast, so get your registration in. That really celebrates the past year and springboards us into the next academic year. We have some exciting things on the horizon. I believe it’s a breakout year again. I think this past year we took a step back in a few areas and I’m envisioning our programs being a little bit better at the national level as well as the conference level.