Posted By IrememberDukester on 10/08/2007 4:33 PM
Published Thursday | October 4, 2007
Hawks sad to see NU lose Meyers
BY LEE BARFKNECHT
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
Howard Hawks, a University of Nebraska regent and one of the Husker athletic department's bigger benefactors, spoke in glum tones Thursday about the resignation of Associate Athletic Director Paul Meyers.
"This is very unfortunate for Nebraska-Lincoln," Hawks said. "Paul has done a great job. His departure will leave a big hole.
"It will be very difficult to replace him — if that's their plan; I don't know their plan — with someone of his caliber."
Meyers, in charge of major gifts to Husker athletics, said Thursday that he has resigned after 13 years with the school's development office.
"I'm not going to make any public comments," he said. "I'll just let whatever release comes out from the athletic department speak for itself."
The former three-sport star at Omaha Westside said he will stay in the Omaha area, but is undecided on his career plans.
Hawks predicted Meyers won't be out of work long.
"He's not going to have a hard time finding something good to do," Hawks said. "If the question about Paul is, 'What kind of guy is he?' the answer is, 'Outstanding.'
"He is a class act all the way, as everyone who has ever dealt with him knows."
Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson now has seen two "cabinet members" depart in the past seven months. Associate A.D. for marketing Paul Miles, a Pederson hire and former NU football player, resigned in the spring.
Pederson, in a statement, said: "(Meyers) is a good man and had success as a student-athlete, coach and administrator at the University of Nebraska. We thank him for all his contributions."
Meyers, a former Husker baseball All-American, has been a popular figure with many prominent boosters of Nebraska athletics. Among them are Charles Myers, who gave $5 million to the new football facility in 2004, and former NU baseball player Darin Erstad, who donated $1 million.
Hawks said he was "pretty much" surprised by Meyers' resignation.
"It's going to take awhile to get things built up in that area back to Paul's caliber," Hawks said. "He'll definitely be missed."
While in school at Nebraska, Meyers earned first-team All-America honors in 1986 as an outfielder. In his three-year NU career, he hit .350 with 36 homers, 209 RBIs, 250 hits and 60 stolen bases.
He was a fourth-round pick of the San Francisco Giants and played in their minor-league system before shoulder problems ended his pro career.
Meyers returned to Lincoln as a Nebraska assistant baseball coach before joining the development office in 1994. In 2000, he was named development office director. In 2005, he was named the associate A.D. for development, and earlier this year he became associate A.D. for major gifts.
When HOWARD HAWKS makes a statement like - "It will be very difficult to replace him — if that's their plan; I don't know their plan — with someone of his caliber."
It makes you wonder what Meyers saw or didn't like that caused him to bail. From what I have seen Meyers was closer to the major boosters than Stevie P.
