The first time Derek Engelbart used his employee key card to enter the University of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium, he swelled with a sense of boyhood joy. Late in the summer of 2023, a different type of joy filled Engelbart as he returned to his alma mater in an exciting new capacity. A conversation about how he might help Concordia University, Nebraska turned into something Engelbart hadn’t expected.
Engelbart relished the experiences he had at the University of Nebraska, including flying to Dublin to help plan for a Husker football game and accompanying coaches on meet-and-greets with fans across the nation. Initially, Engelbart wasn’t sure he was ready to leave that life behind and walk away from his job as Assistant General Manager, juggling various marketing and corporate sponsorship initiatives within Husker Athletics.
“My first reaction was I love what I do and I love the people I work with at the University of Nebraska,” Engelbart said. “If there’s ever a time I can help my alma mater personally or professionally, I always want to learn more. That’s how it started – having a conversation and learning more. The more it grew into bigger conversations and grew into meeting leadership and the advancement team here on campus, the more I got excited about how I could plug into a great team and help. It got more exciting as I understood the opportunities for working with alumni and supporters and carrying out the initiatives and goals of the university.”
Ultimately, Engelbart accepted the call to become Concordia’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement. The position fits Engelbart’s talents and abilities to a tee. Throughout his professional career, Engelbart has worked in the business of people as a servant leader in the communities in which he has lived. He began to hone his skills as a student-athlete at Concordia from 1998 to 2001. The Business Administration graduate went on to work primarily in medical and healthcare sales positions in the St. Louis area before returning to his hometown of Lincoln, Neb. Notably, Engelbart took on the position of Surgery Center Director at Lincoln Orthopaedic Center before being hired at the University of Nebraska, first as the Associate Executive Director of Alumni relations.
For those who have followed the Bulldog Men’s Basketball program, the Engelbart name is a familiar one. Derek’s older brother Darin starred during the mid-1990s while being named the 1994-95 Nebraska Iowa Athletic Conference Player of the Year in the process of setting the school record for career assists. Derek arrived at Concordia a year after Darin had graduated. At one point, at least one Engelbart held down a roster spot for nine years in a glorious 10-year span of the program’s history. The Engelbarts are the only brother combination in school history to appear on the 1,000-career points list.
Their importance to the history of the program is undeniable. Former Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Concordia Athletics Hall of Famer Grant Schmidt acknowledged this as Derek’s collegiate career wound down in the early 2000s. As Schmidt wrote then, “The Engelbarts have definitely left a mark on this program that will be remembered and respected for many years.”
Derek’s roots in Seward and the Concordia community run deep. His father Dennis graduated from Concordia and his mother Nancy grew up in Seward. As a youngster, Derek competed in C-Club basketball tournaments on the campus and attended sporting events along with his family. Darin and Derek both wound up attending Lincoln Northeast High School, but their ties to Seward were ever present in their lives. Darin first chose to play basketball at the University of Nebraska-Omaha before transferring to Concordia. Undeniably, Darin’s path influenced Derek’s decision to some degree.
“There were a lot of connections that put the focus on Concordia,” Engelbart said. “When I was looking at schools, I didn’t know if I wanted to play basketball, so I tried not to make it about basketball. The business college at Concordia in the mid-90s was just starting to grow under Dr. Obermueller and Dr. Langewisch. I thought business was where I wanted to go with my career path. Darin had just graduated when I finished my junior year of high school. When you get on campus and learn about the academic opportunities and meet the guys on the team – and see how generally great of guys they were – that’s what led me here. It was the sense of community and the people I would get to hang around.”
Derek may joke that “it wouldn’t take that long” to unpack his college basketball career, but that would not be accurate for someone who averaged 16.1 points per game as both a junior and senior and led the 2000-01 team to the national tournament round of 16. Truthfully, Derek likely wouldn’t be able to remember all that many details from the 88-70 national tournament win over Cardinal Stritch in 2001. He’ll lament the loss to Cornerstone in the proceeding round, but he’ll mostly think about the friendships and shared experiences that still get talked about in the present day.
As a friend and mentor to many, Derek has earned the respect of teammates and co-workers alike throughout his adult life. Even his older brother felt inspired by Derek’s actions. Said Darin, “Whether he knows it or not, he was always an inspiration to me.”
In returning to Concordia, Derek has been brought closer to former teammates like basketball coaches Ben Limback and Drew Olson and professor Tim Schroeder. On one particular September day, they gathered together around a table in the Janzow Campus Center while eating lunch and sharing stories, a continuation of their playing days. There were discussions involving hot topics in the sporting world and the Concordia community – and plenty of laughs.
“It is special,” Derek says of the bonds formed through the men’s basketball program. “It’s not only the era of guys that I played with and got a chance to know but also the eras before us and even afterwards. You get to know different aspects and eras that I wouldn’t have known if I wasn’t tied into a team that had that culture. Then you get the broader sense of the community of Concordia that supports that culture.”
In the years since Derek graduated from Concordia, the appreciation he has for the university as a whole has grown exponentially. Through years of perspective and reflection, Derek realizes there were many factors that came together to give him the memorable experience he enjoyed. The people included not just the coaches, professors, teammates and classmates, but also those who generously gave their time and financial support to Concordia student-athletes.
“In athletics, every year for basketball, the chance to go to play in Florida or California over the holidays, that was something that really excited us as student-athletes,” Derek said. “You felt the support because you knew that others made that happen for us. You recognize the meals that are served to you while nobody else is on campus. They might make you a prime rib dinner or have you over for a pizza party. Those are things our teammates still talk about.”
Naturally, Derek is happy to talk to anyone who may have a desire to enrich the lives of Concordia students of the present and future. Considering his business background, Derek looks proudly upon the Paul H. and Mary Ann Koehler Department of Business and appreciates the determination it took to bring to fruition the Dunklau Center for Science, Math and Business and the Borland Center for Music and Theatre. Engelbart is tasked with building upon what was accomplished under previous VP for Advancement Kurth Brashear in conjunction with CFO Dave Kumm.
It wasn’t hard for Engelbart to continue to buy into Concordia’s mission and vision for the future. Said President Dr. Bernard Bull at the time of Engelbart’s hiring, “His commitment to and passion for Concordia’s mission, deep understanding of the difference that a Concordia education makes upon the faith and life of students, and his extensive experience and qualifications make him an excellent addition to our leadership team. I believe that God has brought us just the right person for such a time as this. We look forward to working with him to further the mission, vision and strategic plan of the university.”
In Derek’s eyes, the goal should not be to simply maintain and keep the status quo. Engelbart sees opportunities for innovation and enhancement. He wants to continue to grow industry partners, upgrade facilities when appropriate and capitalize on creative ideas such as the recently announced Paul Scholars work-college program. At the same time, the values of the university will remain unchanged.
“Our Christ-centered mission is always going to separate us from a lot of other schools,” Derek said. “If we can maintain that while also growing these innovative ideas, it will be really special. We’re going to need support to do it.”
As Derek will tell people, “support” can mean a lot of different things. Every single penny can help in maintaining operating budgets while propping up endowments. Derek welcomes alums and friends of the university to reach out about ways they can help. Above all else, Engelbart is here to improve the lives of Concordia students and ensure they have everything they need to be equipped for service in the church and world.
Engelbart’s passion for this place and the people of Concordia have brought him full circle. Derek and his wife Jenni never left the Bulldog family, but now they’re just a little bit closer to the action.
Says Derek, “As I look back at my time on campus, from the professors to anyone I interacted with, like President (Orville) Walz at the time, I got really excited about coming back full circle … We have a lot of innovative ideas that are coming from President Bull, the cabinet and the board of regents. They’ve laid out a great plan, and I’m just humbled to help them carry it out. That happens through relationships and networking. The greatest thing about Concordia is its people. That’s the future of Concordia – continuing to invest in the people and the programs. Giving back can help support those opportunities for the next wave of Bulldogs.”