Shatel: Does Mike Kemp want to be UNO's next athletic director?

He didn’t say no.

I wasn’t going to lead with the question. I thought I would wait five minutes, get Mike Kemp going in another direction, and then send the slap shot his way.

I did, and like one of his Old Bull goalkeepers, Kemp was ready for it. He was quick with the wrist and slapped it away.

Does Mr. UNO want to become the next athletic director?

More on that later. But he didn’t say no.

We sat in his old office, at Baxter Arena, when Kemp was the associate A.D. in charge of a building. But now that he is interim A.D., he works over in Sapp Fieldhouse, in the office Trev Alberts called home since 2009.

There is much work to be done. UNO opens the hockey season on Saturday night at Baxter. All the fans are back. And they plan to raise a banner.

A special night. UNO opens its 25th hockey season. The celebration is going to last all winter.

Kemp will be leading the festivities. But in many ways, it’s a celebration of Kemp’s career at UNO. He showed up here in 1996, putting together a young hockey program with bold dreams. He’s worn many hats since.

Twenty-five years. That’s a lot of stories, a lot of questions. But only 15 minutes. The interim A.D. has a meeting on campus.

Q: How did you end up being interim A.D.?

A: “Somebody needed to fill that void, and I’ve been that kind of person since I got here in 1996,” Kemp said. “I was asked to step into that role by Chancellor (Joanne) Li and (NU President) Ted Carter.

“I’m in that role until somebody tells me I’m not.”

Q: When you arrived here, as a longtime assistant from Wisconsin, did you think you would stay 25 years?

A: “Other than a coach, I never really planned to be anything. I was a career coach. I thought my destiny was to be a Division I coach.

“When the opportunity came here, this is where I was meant to be. As you go through life, everything you do prepares you for the next opportunity.”

After serving as head coach for 12 years, Kemp moved to associate A.D. in 2009 when Alberts was hired. He was in charge of hockey, track, men’s and women’s tennis, golf and soccer.

He was also in charge of facilities, which meant converting Caniglia Field into a soccer complex.

Then, in 2015, UNO moved into its ice palace, Baxter Arena. For Kemp, it was a labor of love. He helped design the arena, based on a hockey building he liked in Boston.

Little did he know he would soon be running the arena.

“I never thought I would become a general manager of a multipurpose arena that hosted trade show and concerts and games,” Kemp said. “But I did when I was called upon to do it.

“I always say you grow where you’re planted. I went into it and did my best. I’m proud of the fact that we’ve made a profit, it’s a profitable building, it’s operated in the black.”

Q: After getting UNO hockey up on its feet and winning, did you have any job offers to coach elsewhere?

A: “There were, but I was never in a situation where I wanted to leave. The greatest blessing of my life was being able to start a program where every stroke of the brush was my own. From designing what the uniform looked like to recruiting the group of young men who would include the head coach 25 years later.

“I came here to start a program, not a team. I was here to look at the long vision of things, to have a program that matured and would be lasting, that the community would be proud of for a long time. What more could a person ask for?”

Q: Do you like the program’s place in the community, amid Nebraska football and Creighton basketball?

A: “Hockey is a niche sport. We know that. There are 60 programs around the country in Division I. You understand what you are.

“But we have a tremendous support in this community. We are where I hoped we’d be. It’s the leading hockey program in the city. It has a tremendous following, very loyal and dedicated. We have established ourselves as a known brand in the college hockey world and in Canada.

“We’ve had ebbs and flows across the 25 years. We continue to move up the ladder. I’m pleased, not satisfied. I have a great optimism toward the future. Mike Gabinet is the right guy to take us into the future.”

Q: There were those when Gabinet was hired who thought he wasn’t the most qualified candidate. Did you hear the critics?

A: “Oftentimes instead of the high-profile hire, the low-profile hire is the better one. I’ve known Mike since he was 18 years old. I saw in him as a player the kind of vision and thoughtfulness he had. Then you saw him as a young coach with a great mind for the game, really innovative and good with student-athletes.”

Q: You recommended to Trev that he go after Dean Blais when you stepped down. A lot of guys with egos might not have done that.

A: “It was what was best for where we were at. I’m not ego-driven. I’m one of those guys, put your head down and work hard, go forward and do what’s right.”

Blais might be coming back this winter. Kemp said there are plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary at each home series. The centerpiece would be an event in January in which all 25 teams will be invited back.

That’s a lot of Old Bulls.

“If we get 100 of them back, I’ll be thrilled,” Kemp said. “We’re going to pick an all-time team, voted on by the fans. It will be fun for people.”

Q: Speaking of people you want back, can you keep the money people and donors who Trev brought into the fold over the last decade?

A: “Those people who are our strongest supporters, I believe they will stay our strongest supporters. Trev did a tremendous job. He was such a visionary and did a great job of building relationships with those people in the community.

“I’ve already had conversations with several of them and I’m sure we’ll be able to follow up on that.”

So is this the next A.D. at UNO?

Kemp said he and his wife will always live in Omaha. It’s where their daughters grew up, and now their kids. Grandpa is another new hat for Kemp.

But does he want to wear the A.D.’s hat full time?

“We’ll see,” Kemp said with a smile.

That’s not a no.

“That’s not a no,” he repeated.

In terms of qualifications, he’s got the hat trick.