04: EVENT MANAGEMENT
There is no place like Nebraska.
It’s something that gets said all the time and Nebraska fans know first-hand how true that is. But the phrase spans far beyond Husker nation. You hear it from officials, media members, opposing teams, fans and staff, as well as members of conferences and the NCAA.
Need more proof?
Nebraska regularly is the site of conference championships and NCAA Regionals. Nebraska has hosted Final Fours and National Championships, but how and why?
Well, having a solid athletic team is a major factor in hosting these events, but you don’t get the privilege solely based on the performance of the team. You have to have people who know how to put on an event – and do it right.
Nebraska has a reputation for putting on some of the best events in the country, thanks to its tradition, its athletic programs, the impressive facilities, a passionate fan base and its dedicated employees.
One specific group plays a bigger role than most in this reputation - Nebraska’s event management department.
Long-time Nebraska athletics employee Butch Hug set the standard for event management and help build that reputation. He’s a legend in the industry. Now retired, Hug has handed the reins over to Associate Athletic Director Matt Davidson and his team, who works countless hours to uphold that reputation. The team consists of Derek Bond, Tim Henrichs, Payton Buckmaster, Kale Terrill and Teri Riggins, as well as a number of interns and full-time guest relations/security attendants.
So, what exactly do they do? Well, a lot.
Imagine that every event Nebraska has is a party – well this group is hosting the party. They make sure someone is “home” when the guests arrive, they make sure everyone has a place to stay – or in this case – sit or park and they make sure everyone is safe. They wear so many different hats and do whatever it takes to make sure the event runs smoothly.
The event management staff does this for every Nebraska sporting event, as well as any outside event that is hosted in one of the facilities. This includes all NSAA events and postseason events.
“Another way to think of it is like the edge pieces and the glue of a puzzle,” Henrichs said.
Just like the edge pieces are first, so is the events staff. They set up the base and the perimeter so everyone else can come in and complete the puzzle. Then, just as the glue holds everything together, so does events. While each department has its own job and set of responsibilities, events is intertwined with it all.
Events makes credentials for communications. Events helps set up tables and form entry lines for ticketing. They let the visiting team in the locker room and coordinate all of the medical staff, the parking, the first responders, Red Cross, ROTC, police and guest relations staff. They also play a major role in taking care of the officials, they help the team and band enter and exit the field safely, specifically during the Tunnel Walk. Additionally, the group is responsible for feeding a majority of the workers on game days. That's more than 200 meals.
A football game day is one of the biggest events for the department. Memorial Stadium becomes the third-largest city in Nebraska and just like a city has specific needs to stay safe and organized, so does Memorial Stadium. Between the events staff (full time and part time), the medical staff, police, ROTC, volunteers and contracted security, there are more than 3,000 workers and 35 agencies that events coordinates with on a football game day.
Planning begins months before and there are several meetings with internal and external departments throughout the week to plan for game day, but the first major duty during the week is welcoming the visiting team's equipment staff when they arrive the day before. The events staff shows them to the locker room and makes sure they have everything they need to get settled.
When Saturday rolls around, the events staff is the first on the scene. Regardless of game time, parking lots open at 6 a.m., which means the staff arrives around 4:30 a.m. For a night game, this group is pulling about an 18-hour day. One full-time events employee called the parking staff “the real heroes.”
Over the next few hours, more and more full-time staff arrive, as well as the department’s student workers. Around 8 a.m. the group begins setting up the area around the stadium. This includes getting out tables, setting up guest relations tents, adding more space for pedestrians and setting up lanes for traffic flow.
As other employees and media members arrive, the events staff is there to meet them, checking carry-in items and credentials, as well as showing them where to go.
Prior to opening the gates, a safety and security briefing is held for all the different organizations that assist with security. Led by UNLPD and the Nebraska events staff, the meeting makes sure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to safety procedures and protocols. Once the meeting is over, groups move to their assigned locations and prepare for when gates open.
WALKING OF THE BULLS
Down on the south side of the stadium, Nebraska students have already started to lineup outside Gate 24 in hopes of getting a front row seat for Nebraska's game against Northwestern.
The student section operates on a first-come-first-serve basis when it comes to seating. So when the gates open (earlier than all other gates), it can be a mad rush up the ramps into the stadium. When you’ve got a couple hundred eager students, it can quickly turn into a dangerous situation. However, our events staff has it covered. A “tradition” they like to call “Walking of the Bulls,” the staff ensures the students walk (usually as quickly as possible) and arrive safely to their seats.
Shortly after, the visiting team arrives, and the events staff is there to make sure they get to their locker room and have everything they need – the perfect hosts.
THE UNITY WALK
When the Huskers arrive at the stadium, hundreds of fans line up to get a glimpse, a photo or maybe even a high five from a player or a coach. Our events staff, as well as the police department ensure that the team gets through the crowd safely, and fans don’t get trampled or hit by any of the buses or vehicles.
The staff prepares for the general gates to open by setting up ticket scanners and reporting to their respective positions. Once the gates open, the party has officially begun. Staff members are scanning tickets, checking bags and helping fans find their seats.
From the time the Huskers come out on the field for pregame warm ups, until the final seconds tick off the clock, most of the events staff is on the field monitoring the sidelines or among the fans making sure everything runs smoothly.
They’ll respond to complaints, problems or emergencies in the stands and throughout the stadium as needed.
However, a small group spends the game in the operations booth in Memorial Stadium. It’s one of those places that you likely wouldn’t find unless you knew where to look for it. It’s not a place you’d stumble upon and as a fan who is there to cheer for the Huskers and watch the game, it’s probably a place you wouldn’t want to find. While it’s located very much in the middle of the action, the vibe inside the booth is much different than the rest of the stadium.
First of all, it’s quiet. Second, between televisions, laptops, desktops and tablets, there’s nearly 30 different screens in the room, and one - that’s right ONE - is turned to the game, which was a rare occurrence. Usually, the game isn't on a single screen in the operations booth.
See, while they want to the Huskers to win, during the event, the game isn’t their primary focus. The people are.
“Sometimes we lose track of the game and have to check to see who is winning,” one worker said.
They’re responding and logging all the calls and texts they receive. They’re using more than 2,300 cameras in and around the stadium, downtown and on campus, to keep an eye on the 90,000 plus people in the area, making sure everyone stays safe and everyone has a good time – because to them, a successful event is a safe event.
As the game ends and people start to leave the stadium, the events staff makes sure everyone gets out safely. Then they clean up, tear down and put everything away.
When they’re done, they’ve put on a lot of steps. One worker had nearly 35,000 on the day, which is almost 14 miles. This was actually a light day, as earlier this season, multiple members of the department neared 50,000 steps (20 miles).
As they wrap up, there’s hardly anyone else left.
The first ones to arrive and some of the last ones to leave.
The edges of the puzzle.
The glue that holds everything together.
The best party hosts.
And a major reason that, regardless of who you ask, they’ll tell you that there is no place like Nebraska.
