After unanimous approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents at an April board meeting, the ice rink at Baxter Arena will be named in honor of Mike Kemp, the Mavericks first head coach in program history. Moving forward, “Kemp Ice” will be displayed alongside Baxter Arena around the center ice circle. Additionally, his signature will join Don Leahy’s on the ice.
“Congratulations to Mike Kemp on this well-deserved honor. Coach Kemp is an ambassador in the world of hockey,” Chancellor Joanne Li said. “UNO is filled with pride and honor as we recognize his dedication to the Omaha Hockey program and the broader Omaha Athletics community.”
As the inaugural head coach for Omaha Hockey, Kemp arrived at the University of Nebraska Omaha on July 1, 1996. He was elevated to the position of Associate Athletic Director in May of 2009 after serving as the head hockey coach for 12 years. Over the years in this role, he had oversight of the hockey program and several athletics capital projects including the design and construction of Baxter Arena.
“After nearly 50 years in the industry, Mike Kemp has been one of the most impactful figures in college hockey and at the University of Nebraska at Omaha,” says Vice Chancellor / Director of Athletics, Adrian Dowell. "During his tenure as head coach, Mike successfully developed Maverick hockey into a national brand which became a staple in the Omaha sports landscape, as evident by the 131 consecutive sellouts at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. This tradition of competitive and attendance excellence even continues today as Maverick Hockey recently achieved its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament while ranking fourth nationally in attendance.”
“It’s incredibly humbling to be recognized in this fashion. My sincere thanks to everyone who had some part in making this incredible honor a reality,” said Mike Kemp.
“The opportunity to start a Division I Hockey program from scratch is something very few people ever have the privilege of doing. To think that I would still be here 28 years later, still involved with the day-to-day decisions related to that program, is hard to imagine. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Don Leahy, Del Weber, and the original hockey committee for having the foresight of what Maverick Hockey has become.”
With his coaching successes, he was named CCHA Coach of the Year in 2005 and was named as a finalist for conference and National Coach of the Year on several occasions. Kemp was also heavily involved in the collegiate hockey landscape; a career that was crowned by his service on the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee including as Chairman in 2021. He also served as Vice President of the American Hockey Coaches Board of Governors and was inducted into the Omaha Sports and Omaha Hockey Hall of Fames in 2013.
“This is the ultimate honor to highlight an incredible career and we are so grateful to Mike Kemp for his service to our institution and organization,” said Dowell. “We are also appreciative to the supporters who helped make this honor a reality and thank the Board of Regents and the Office of the President for approving this fitting tribute.”
“We would not be the program that we are today without the contributions by all of our coaches, players and staff who believed in what we were trying to do in 1997, and still believe in what we are doing with Maverick Hockey today. And to all those supporters who were there in 1996 when the first season tickets went on sale, and are still buying them today, you have played a huge part in what this program has become,” said Kemp. “This recognition is an extension of the contributions of all of the people who have touched the Maverick Hockey Program from 1996 to today. They have all played a part of this honor.”
Omaha Athletics plans to officially dedicate the naming of ‘Kemp Ice’ at Baxter Arena during the first home series of the 2024-25 hockey season. At which time UNO plans to celebrate Kemp’s 27 years of leadership of the hockey program and dedication to Omaha Athletics.
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