Take this from a former University of Nebraska at Kearney athletics director who also was an assistant football coach at Missouri and an associate athletics director at Washington State – Bill Moos, Nebraska’s new director of athletics, is the real deal.
A groundbreaker for 12 years as athletics director at Oregon, Moos became a pioneer for seven years as A.D. at Washington State and on Sunday, he became a high expectation trendsetter for the University of Nebraska, one of the nation’s top four winning college football programs.
The Huskers, however, have gone almost two decades without winning a conference championship, and that is precisely why new leadership is so vital.
“I knew Bill when we were at Washington State together,” former Kearney A.D. Dick Beechner told me Sunday. “I was an associate athletic director with Bill when we were both under athletic director Sam Jankovich. I’ve known Bill for a long time at WSU and have followed his career not only at Washington State but also at Montana. He did a good job.”
I Know This: Bill Doesn’t Tolerate Mediocrity; He Wants People to Be the Best They Know How
“I’ve always respected Bill, and we’ve always gotten along very well,” Beechner said. “I know this – Bill doesn’t tolerate mediocrity. He wants people to do the best that they know how. He has integrity. He likes people and as I listened to his press conference today on Huskers.com, you can bet Bill will embrace Nebraska and will definitely reach out to the entire state.”
Why does Beechner, who made the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation a prominent gemstone that features Husker legend Tom Osborne, know what others do not know?
“Bill is a great listener,” Beechner said. “If decisions need to be made, he will make sure they’re made and will not linger on in anything. If Bill thinks that it is important to hire coaches, he will.
“Nebraska is really fortunate to hire Bill Moos. He will do a good job and he’s sincere about seeing Nebraska as one of the top four or five jobs in the country,” Beechner said. “When Bill visits athletic directors, I’m sure he’s aware that Nebraska is a tough job, but I think he’s capable of taking care of that task and will definitely do the best he can.”
Moos is sincere. “He’s not a smoke screen,” Beechner said. “Everything comes from his heart and what he believes in. He’s very excited about the Nebraska job and the challenges that job presents. This can be a very good situation for Nebraska, for Bill, for players, coaches and fans.”
The Parallels Between Washington State and Nebraska are Real; Hard Work Is a Shared Priority
There are indeed parallels between Washington State and Nebraska. “Jim Livengood, Bill and I were all associate A.D.s when Jim Walden was at Washington State in the early ‘80s,” Beechner said. “Livengood became the A.D. at Arizona and Bill became the A.D. at Washington State. They were both very hard workers. They didn’t have the resources Nebraska has, but they did great jobs.”
In Sunday’s press conference, “Bill (pictured above left with UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green) made a point about how many great resources Nebraska has,” Beechner said. “If I was on the staff at Nebraska, I would be glad to know how much Bill has been in the arena. He led the Pac 12 television package in his conference. He led a major program in the big arena, which has been very successful. It had a great impact for the conference. Bill was equally successful when he was A.D. at Oregon, doing a great job there before moving on to WSU.”
Moos helped expand facilities in Pullman. “I was there three years ago and went to the Stanford game to see the new press box in beautiful fashion,” Beechner said. “Nebraska is getting a very experienced athletic director and one who has a lot of passion for the program he’s in charge of. Bill is always concerned about the student-athlete. He’s been very successful. I’m sure he’s excited to be part of Nebraska and the maturing process for student-athletes from age 18 to 23. That’s an impressionable age that Bill can really relate to.”
Beechner enjoyed seeing Moos in Pullman. “In some ways, it seemed like we never left,” Beechner said. “Bill is a very easy guy to talk to. He’s an exciting guy, a competitive guy, a genuine guy.”
Moos has done a great job at WSU. “They believe once a Cougar always a Cougar just like Nebraska believes once a Husker always a Husker,” Beechner said. “Bill’s the kind of guy who reflects what we’ve done in the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation – honor the past and inspire the future. That’s what he does wherever he is.”
Bill Moos Definitely Embraces the Past and Wants to Build a Bright Future for the Huskers
Even though Moos (pictured above) does not say the exact words, they precisely represent the way he looks at college athletics. “He definitely embraces the past and wants to build the future, too,” Beechner said.
“This is a great opportunity for a great leader,” added Beechner. “He can relate to anyone, whether they’re someone on the street corner or the biggest banker in town. That was a big and a popular trait that Bob Devaney had. I think people who meet Bill will absolutely love talking to him.”
Moos does not favor anybody at the top over those who love where they are. “A Nebraska coach who was leaving the press conference said Bill Moos has that same footprint as Coach Devaney,” Beechner said. “He is instantly likeable. I would say that even though Nebraskans don’t know how good Bill is right now, they will know very soon that he has the potential to enhance the Nebraska athletic program.”
Beechner respects and credits Moos’ accomplishments wherever he has worked. “If you’re the dean of the athletic directors in a conference that has UCLA, USC, Washington, Stanford and all those other universities with TV rights, I’d say that’s pretty good company to be the dean of the administrators,” Beechner said.
“I’m happy for Bill. I’m happy for Nebraska, and I hope the best thing about this hire is that nobody puts Bill on a huge pedestal at this point,” Beechner said. “They will definitely appreciate Bill as time goes on, and they will see how a mover and a shaker can be so instrumental in launching what you really need to succeed.”
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