Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney Athletic Department announced today that the press box at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field will be named after Loper legend Donald "Don" K. Briggs.
"Mr. B", as he was known to the UNK and Kearney communities, served as sports information director for an unprecedented 33 years (1958-1990). He passed away in 2013 at the age of 86.
During halftime of the November 12th football game between the Lopers and rival Fort Hays State, member
s of the Briggs family will receive a framed letterman jacket that was worn by Don. They will also be recognized during an on-field ceremony.
The University of Nebraska Foundation will host a celebration gathering at Loperville, starting at noon. This is a free event and all are welcome to attend.
A pioneer in the collegiate sports information field, Briggs earned his undergraduate ('51) and graduate degrees ('57) from Kearney State College. His graduate degree was the first-ever awarded by KSC. Before coming back to campus, he was a teacher and principal in Lyman and served in the Army.
Previous to 1974, Briggs was Kearney State's entire public relations department, serving as SID, alumni services, college relations and college publications directors. He began his UNK tenure as a journalism and English teacher and, over the years, was an adviser to The Antelope Newspaper, Blue & Gold Yearbook and Student Senate.
Briggs was also greatly involved with the Phi Tau Gamma and Alpha Tau Omega fraternities, serving as adviser from 1957-2002. He not only earned the ATO's National Adviser of the Year award but also received an ATO Lifetime Achievement award. Pledging Phi Tau in 1948, he was initiated in 1966 when the fraternity went national.
The Broken Bow High School graduate was inducted into the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Hall of Fame in 1971, the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Hall of Fame in 1987, the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Broken Bow Hall of Fame in 2004.
He also picked up the UNK's Distinguished Alumni Service Award and received the Kearney Hub Freedom Award for volunteer service in 2004. During his Loper career, he twice received the NAIA Award of Merit, served as President of the NAIA Sports Information Directors Association and was the NAIA District 11 information director for two decades.
For more than 20 years, he served as the press room coordinator for the NAIA track and field championships and for the NAIA national basketball tournament in Kansas City. Not surprisingly, in 1980, Briggs received the Pearson Award, the NAIA's SID highest honor.
Additionally, he wrote the history of Loper athletics for the years 1905-2000 and wrote the history for the State Tuberculosis Hospital, which is now the West Center of the UNK campus.
Jim Rundstrom, Former UNK Alumni Director
"Nobody cared more about UNK and Loper athletics than Don Briggs. He truly bled blue. His dedication to the university is legendary among former students, ATO and Phi Tau Gamma fraternity members, athletes and alumni. For more than 60 years, the university was his life."
Al Zikmund, Former UNK Football Coach & Athletic Director
"He was loyal to Kearney State College, Loper athletics and to the City of Kearney. He was a very big supporter of what we were doing and went beyond the call of what was in his job description all the time. I was lucky to have someone like Don in an administrative role; when I would ask him about a certain situation or duty, he would say 'That's already been taken care of.' He came from a large family and really pulled himself up by his own bootstraps to become successful."
