Rick went to school at St. Thomas High School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. There was a teacher and coach there that gave Rick his first break and turned out to be a life long mentor. That man was future NKU men’s basketball coach Kenney Shields. Rick also attended high school with another future NKU coach Nancy Winstel. Nancy was a standout volleyball player and went on to be a three-sports athlete at NKU as well as a Hall of Fame coach. Rick began as a student at Northern Kentucky State College in 1972 which was the second year of the athletic department’s existence. Thanks to Kenney Shields, Rick became at stats person for head coach Mote Hils whom Kenney played for at Covington Catholic High School. While in college Rick is hired as writer and reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer and covers a number a great sporting events during his time with the paper. When Rick graduates in 1977 he is hired to be the first full-time Sports Information Director at NKU. Over the course of his career Rick eyewitnesses so much history at NKU and he shares some of those stories. He talks about when Regents Hall opens it was not only the home of the basketball and volleyball programs but they also held concerts performed by national acts including Sly and The Family Stone. Rick was there to watch Bill Aker build the baseball doing everything from building the field to recruiting players out of the student lounge. NKU was one of the first state colleges to offer full scholarships for women athletes. This lead to early and long standing success including being the first women’s basketball team to win a game at Rupp Arena against the University of Kentucky. In 1978, the men’s basketball team coached by Mote Hils defeated Xavier for the first of two consecutive wins against the Musketeers and it puts NKU athletes on the map. Thanks in part to the win against Xavier, NKU was its first trip to the NCAA Division-II tournament. Unfortunately, the athletic director at the time Lonnie Davis turns down the opportunity for NKU to host the Great Lakes Regional. Head Coach Mote Hils was less than happy and he has a legendary interaction with his boss that Rick was in person to witness. In 1981 a major budget cut forces NKU to leave the NCAA and go NAIA. In fact, there was discussions to actual shut down the athletic department entirely. Rick was there and describes how that all happened as well as NKU returning to the NCAA as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Jane Meier is hired as the athletic director at NKU after at one time or another coaching women’s basketball, volleyball and softball. By the 1990’s, Rick becomes the SID for the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the league becomes a dominant force in men’s basketball including NKU making back-to-back appearances in the Divsion-II national championship game. Rick was also working at NKU during the failed attempt to start a football program which was a very polarizing subject on campus. The conversation goes back to men’s basketball and Rick explains the transition in the late 1980s from head coach Mike Beitzel to Kenney Shields. You can follow Brady Laber on Twitter @BradyLaber1 please use the hashtag #NobodysSafe Check out the Nobody’s Safe website at nobodysssafe.fireside.fm For more information on Stove Leg Media go the website StoveLeg.com or send an email to Podcasts@stoveleg.com Intro music for the podcast was provided by bensoud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
