Despite being behind other programs in facilities and funding, UNK athletics ranks 19th in the nation in the DII Learfield Directors’ Cup standings. The cup is awarded to the top athletics program based on its results in NCAA championship events.
The Lopers are also third among MIAA teams behind Pittsburg State and Washburn and are on track to have their highest points total since 2022, when they finished 25th.
The common denominator amongst most programs that consistently finish in the top 25 is multi-million-dollar facilities and funding. Marc Bauer, UNK athletic director, said the Lopers have $2.5 million for scholarships compared to other MIAA schools, which he said are spending an additional million dollars on scholarships.
“Funding-wise, scholarships, we’re way behind,” Bauer said. “That is probably the biggest concern. If UNK wants to be leaders on the field, competing for championships, you’ve got to have the scholarships.”
UNK Athletics, in the recent round of budget cuts, had its operations spending trimmed by $200,000. As the department faces that obstacle, Bauer said they must adjust to find money elsewhere through scholarships and endowments.
“I would love to have our entire athletic department endowed; that takes a $98 million endowment,” Bauer said. “That ain’t going to happen, but if we can start getting more endowments from alumni, donors, people that really care and understand the vision and purpose of athletics for UNK student athletes, they’re gonna be more apt to help support that way.”
Programs at UNK fundraise to help increase their budgets. Football has the Loper Backers Banquet, which is coming up on Thursday, April 23. Women’s basketball has hosted “Night with the Lopers” the last two years in the fall, and now swimming is taking over the Buffalo Stampede half-marathon from the YMCA, an event Bauer said brought in over $10,000 last year.
In addition to program funding, another aspect UNK Athletics continues to pursue is capital projects for facility enhancements. Recently, UNK Athletics and Kearney Parks and Recreation renovated Dryden Park for the softball team.
The project began a few years ago in a conversation that started with the possibility of turfing the field. Discussions continued from there and through donors, the two groups decided to invest money into a new scoreboard, press box, fencing, bullpens, dugouts and new dirt for the infield.
In addition to softball, the Health and Sports Center began its own renovations last week as the hardwood will be sanded down to a plain, maple wood surface and repainted. This type of project typically needs to happen around every 20 years.
Another project UNK Athletics is planning on is to replace the turf at Ron and Carol Cope Stadium in the summer of 2027.Â
That’s in addition to other facility enhancements Bauer has visions for, including renovating the room UNK and Kearney High School football and UNK soccer use at Cope Stadium into a locker room for the soccer team. The room was constructed to be used by football teams during halftime, before UNK added soccer and not as a locker room.Â
At Dryden Park, enclosing the outdoor batting cages and adding a locker room for softball is another project Bauer would like to make happen.
“I think we’ve got some neat projects that the next five, six, seven years, we can continue to work towards and continue to add to what we have going on here,” Bauer said. “But it does come at an expense. That’s why it’s going to take us time. If I had all the money right now, I would say, let’s go do all this stuff and let’s get it done right now. That’s not possible.”
As UNK is the northernmost school in the MIAA, another project Bauer and the athletic department have discussed is installing an inflatable dome. Other in-state schools, such as Wayne State and Peru State, have one in addition to fellow MIAA members Fort Hays State, Washburn, Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State.
Bauer said that kind of project can cost anywhere from the $6 million to beyond the $27 million Washburn invested into its indoor dome. Even though Bauer thinks UNK has the land for one, the department, in the meantime, has a good relationship with the City of Kearney and SportsPlex.
Football, soccer and softball have used the SportsPlex when there has been inclement weather at a “minimal cost,” Bauer said. Additionally, the wrestling and volleyball teams have moved their fundraising events there as well.
With multiple successful programs at UNK, growth continues to be on the mind of UNK Athletics to improve the student-athlete experience.
“I tell people all the time, I feel like everything that we do centers around money,” Bauer said. “But at the end of the day, it’s not. It centers around the student-athlete and their experience. We want them to have an exemplary Division II experience, one that helps prepare them for life after college.”
Photos by Antelope Staff
