Behind the Scenes: Athletics not just run by athletes

By AUSTIN JACOBSEN

Life for UNK athletics without Mannie Reinsch would be a lot more difficult. The assistant athletic director and facilities and events director has a job that few envy, but one that is critical to the success of every game.

“A typical day for me is checking in on our ticket offices, talking with coaches about practice schedules, looking at calendars to see what events are going on that day and where, rescheduling events, contacting officials and the MIAA offices,” Reinsch said. “There’s really no true routine. It’s no normal 9-to-5 job.”

That job shifts gears every few months as well. Starting in August with football and volleyball games at Foster Field and the Health and Sports Center, 

Reinsch has a list of duties to check off to make sure the gameday experience is up to par. From contacting officials to creating timing sheets for pre-game events, Reinsch’s team makes sure that UNK has the ability to be seen as one of the premier athletic facilities in the MIAA. 

“We have a great staff. Our ticket operations are phenomenal with Jake Greco. Peter Yazvac always handles our media relations which he’s great at,” Reinsch said. “My main goal is to make sure our fans can have a great experience. If something goes wrong, I didn’t do my job.”

Creating the best fan experience is always in the front of Mannie’s mind. T

his past year, UNK fans had the opportunity to not only witness the MIAA Volleyball tournament at home, but also the first round of the Division Two NCAA Regional Volleyball tournament. Being able to host one of these events is always a dream of the athletics staff.

“It’s a benefit to our campus, our fans, and our student athletes,” Reinsch said. “Having these unique events in Kearney is a great benefit to the community. Our staff usually puts bids in for regional matchups like these, but in the end it came down to our volleyball team performing well and getting the job done to host their conference tournament.”

Reinsch, a Kearney High School and University of Nebraska Kearney graduate, was himself a student-athlete during his time at UNK. Being a member of the UNK Baseball team from 2009-2014 has given him many insights into how life for a student-athlete is on this campus. 

“The student-athlete experience is key to us. If they don’t have a great experience, then what are we even doing this for?” Reinsch said. “That’s why you come to UNK. To build those relationships with student-athletes and see their interactions with their coaches and other students.”

Mannie has yet to miss any home athletics event during his time at UNK. There have been heartbreaking losses to show stopping performances, and Reinsch has seen them all. 

“One of my favorite things that we’ve done during my time here is hosting the NCAA Regional Volleyball tournament this year,” Reinsch said. “We had the Health and Sports Center triple booked, switching from volleyball to basketball practices throughout the day. It was a challenge, but a great challenge to have to better our staff and our team.”

Reinsch has been a Loper for many years, and he loves the atmosphere and environment that is provided by UNK for not only himself and his staff, but for his family as well. 

“I can bring my daughter out to games, my wife can come out to games and they get to watch. To see them at games is always a great feeling.”