August 3, 2000 — In a move that would have a tremendous impact on Creighton’s athletic programs, the Reverend John P. Schlegel takes over as president of CU.
Rev. Schlegel returned to Creighton from a 9-year presidency at the University of San Francisco, and he came back to a community he first experienced as a young man studying to become a Jesuit in the late 1960s. He later served as a political science faculty member and was assistant vice president for academic affairs before he left the Hilltop in 1982.
Since his introduction as president at Creighton, the university has developed rapidly to the east, where at 10th street the men’s basketball team began playing its home games at Qwest Center Omaha in 2003. The eastward expansion of Creighton’s campus includes arguably the greatest collegiate soccer stadium in the country, Morrison Stadium, named for Rev. Michael Morrison, Schlegel’s successor.
In August 2009, Morrison Stadium will gain a gleaming new neighbor; the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center and D.J. Sokol Arena. This facility, built under Schlegel’s guidance, will host women’s basketball and volleyball home contests, house coaches’ offices, locker rooms, training rooms, and the athletic department’s ticket offices.
And Creighton’s Master Plan, over which Schlegel presides, includes future considerations for creating more athletic fields and buildings.
Schlegel is also a regular at many Bluejay sporting events..