By Jill Zeman
J Alumni News staff
When’s he’s speaking in third person, Don Bryant refers to himself as the “Fat Fox.”
But to countless others, the former Nebraska sports information director is an endless well of knowledge about what happened on — and off — the field at Memorial Stadium for the past half-century.
And after fielding numerous requests to compile his stories into a book, Bryant, UNL adjunct professor of journalism, did just that.
He wrote “Tales from the Nebraska Sidelines: A Collection of the Greatest Nebraska Stories Ever Told,” which was published in 2001.
The book chronicles the history of Nebraska football, starting with the inception of the Bugeaters — who later became the Cornhuskers, of course.
Bryant, who served as NU’s sports information director for 31 years, wrote of his experiences with coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne.
Bryant’s work in the athletic department has shown him 34 bowl games, five national champion football teams, 54 All-American players and two Heisman Trophy winners.
In his book, he tells of Nebraska football history as well as behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the past 50 years.
He mentions the lucky red rabbit’s foot that Devaney rubbed at games during the 1970 and 1971 national championship years. Bryant still takes the rabbit’s foot to games today.
And, of course, he brings up the inevitable question: How’d you get the nickname “Fox?”
The answer: Bryant became “Fox” after meeting a girl at a high school track meet whose last name was Fox.
And while Bryant never saw Miss Fox again, the nickname stuck.
Bryant said one of the best parts of writing the book was researching the early Nebraska football years.
He sorted through old Athletic Department documents to spell out what it was like to be a Husker in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
And now, Bryant is working on another book, one that will look at Nebraska athletics experiences outside of Memorial Stadium.
And although he’s become a living legend within Nebraska athletics, Bryant said his own story’s not too interesting.
“I never expected to stay here as long as I did,” he said. “But I have a great interest in Nebraska athletics and the university.”
In “Tales from the Nebraska Sidelines,” Bryant thanks Tom Simons, who served as Bryant’s first full-time assistant.
Simons, who is now UNL’s coordinator of print media in the Office of Public Relations, worked under Bryant first as a student in the 1970s.
Simons — whom Bryant later christened “Mini-Fox” — said he walked into Bryant’s office, looking for a job, and was “scared to death.”
“He was already a legend in Nebraska,” Simons said. Simons became Bryant’s first full-time assistant in the 1980s and kept the job for about 10 years.
“He was like a second father to me,” Simons said. “It was just a great experience.”
After spending more than a decade working with Bryant, Simons said he’s nothing but grateful for the experience.
“The real question is, what didn’t I learn from him?” Simons said.
The reason Bryant’s been able to stay around for so long, Simons said, is his “love of life and ability to get along with everybody.”
And one of the best lessons Bryant taught Simons was how to not take things personally when things go wrong.
“He just always wants to keep working towards the goal of putting the university and Athletic Department in a good light, no matter what.”
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