Kearney, Neb. - Starting in May 2014, a new feature called "Loper Reconnection" will profile former UNK student-athletes. Student Andrew Hanson asks the chosen Loper a series of questions.

The 14th subject is wide receiver and return specialist Doug Banks.

Wrestlers Bryce Abbey and Brian Hagan, Darcie Berry (softball), Justin Coleman and Jay Dostal (football), Jenni Luke and Bethany Spilde (volleyball), Diane Davidson Rouzee (softball & volleyball), Nick Svehla, Mike Hancock & John Higgins (men's basketball), Jade Meads (women's basketball) and Karol McKenzie Nelson (track) were previously profiled.

Banks is among the top receivers in school history, graduating with new school career records for receiving yards (2,043), catches (121) and receiving TD's (20). He also averaged 10.92 yards on punt returns and 22.88 yards on kick returns.

During his playing days, he also was part of two transitions as Kearney State became UNK and the Lopers moved from NAIA to Division II.

Name: Doug Banks
Hometown/High School: Imperial, Neb./Chase County H.S.
Years: 1989-92
Sport: Football


When Doug Banks showed up at the then Kearney State College campus in the late 1980's, the Loper football team wasn't really on his radar.

At the time he was set on being a part of Jerry Hueser's hoops squad.

"It's funny. I really had my heart set on playing basketball there," Banks recalled. "I remember sitting in a meeting with Coach Hueser and Coach (Tom) Kropp after tryouts were done after my freshman year, and I can remember Coach Hueser kind of looking my way and saying every year we've always got a guy or two who switches over to football and ends up having a pretty good career.

"I thought, 'What are you looking at me for?" Banks said with a laugh.

Luckily for Banks, his misfortune of getting cut by the basketball team would be short-lived.

Growing up in Imperial, Banks played football at Chase County High School. "We had a really good coaching staff there. We were very disciplined, hard-nosed, tough," said Banks on his football upbringing. "I always tried to pride myself on working as hard as anybody if not harder."

It was those values that helped propel Banks towards the Loper football team – values that would launch him into a career as a four-year starting wide receiver and a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist.

Not bad for a guy who didn't even come to Kearney to play football.

Banks, who was more of a possession receiver – a guy who could go catch the ball in tight corners, may not have been the biggest or fastest player on the field. That didn't stop him from being one of the University of Nebraska at Kearney's first great wide receivers, though.

"I always had good hands. I think from trying to be hard working and disciplined, I was able to go and get the ball," said Banks, who caught 121 balls for 2,043 yards during his career. He also became just the second player in Loper history to score 20 touchdowns in his career, tying Jim Irwin's school-record set in 1963.

Then, during Banks' senior year in 1990, UNK's offense transitioned from a primarily running scheme to more of a spread offense.

"We were the first group that had that in our playbook, to be in the one-back offense and throw the ball first," Banks said. "We were learning on the run. It was a little different for us. We had some good success on the offensive side of the ball, but we were just setting the stage for some things to come."

The change in direction on offense that head coach Claire Boroff chose to take helped a number of UNK receivers shine. It wasn't just Banks.

Travis Vallin, who played side-by-side with Banks during his career from 1987-90, took off, too. A little bigger and probably faster, Vallin ranks eighth in school history in receiving yards. He went on to sign an NFL free agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The two wideouts complemented each other well.

"We were lucky to have two fairly fast guys at the Division II level," Banks said. "We could stretch the defense pretty good. We also had a pretty good slot back in Omar Rogers and had a couple of good tight ends. I felt like we had some pretty good wide receivers as a group."

UNK also had a new quarterback as they transitioned to the spread offense in senior Russ Harvey.

"Russ was unique in the fact that he was very athletic, had a real strong arm. He was kind of a linebacker in a quarterback's body, so he was very hard-nosed," Banks added.

Harvey's ability to scramble and willingness to take a hit added another layer to the offense where he could stay alive for a longer period of time and allow the receivers more time to get open.

Banks' senior year did have its ups and downs. Of note, that fall was UNK's first as Division II member.

During the opener vs. South Dakota State, the Lopers were able to throw the ball around a lot, to the tune of 236 yards and four TD's, and caught SDSU off guard. UNK managed to nip the Jackrabbits, 35-28, with Banks having TD grabs of 17 and 52 yards.

Heading into the rivalry game at Nebraska-Omaha in week two, the Lopers were pumped and hoping for a 2-0 start.

"We were real excited about that game. I thought we had a good enough team that we probably should have beaten them," Banks said.

A slew of special teams mistakes doomed the Lopers, though, as UNO posted a 44-21 victory.,

Then the following week at Minnesota State-Moorhead, Banks got injured and ended up having to miss two games.

Fortunately, UNK was able to showcase its receiver depth during that time. "I felt that we had such a good receiving corps, and the backups that we had were able to step in and contribute, which was exciting for us," Banks said.

The Lopers were able to win four of their last five games, pushing their record on the season to 6-5. The final win was a 45-42 decision over current MIAA rival NW Missouri State.

"I could have graduated the year before, but I decided to stick around and play the last year of football because you never know when you're done," Banks explained. "We had a good group of guys – offense, defense – and all got along really well. It was nice to finish above .500."

Being named a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist -- the Heisman Trophy of Division II -- was a pretty good way to end the season, too. Banks managed that honor thanks to 33 catches for 539 yards and three scores, 14 kick returns for 344 yards and a TD and 86 punt return yards.

And as someone who was quick to share credit, Banks viewed it more as a team accomplishment.

"I think it was nice to be recognized, but at the same time that stuff doesn't happen without great teammates, a great quarterback, a great offensive line, Coach (Scott) Hoffman, my position coach, and Coach Boroff," he said.

"It was just nice to know that all those guys who helped me become who I was were part of that because it doesn't happen without any of them."

The offense that Banks, Vallin and Rogers thrived in and helped build also laid the groundwork for future receivers like Trevor Weston, Kyle Kaiser, Richie Ross, Mike Smith – the list goes on and on.

"They're obviously doing some great things and they keep getting better every year," Banks said on the evolution of UNK's wide receivers. "We were lucky enough to be in on the ground floor of that. It's great to see records continue to get broke by a variety of kids. It just means that the kids and the program are getting better and better."

After playing football professionally overseas in Europe for three years, Banks returned to UNK as a graduate assistant coach, working with the receivers he helped pave the way for.

"I went back to Kearney and was fortunate enough for Coach Boroff to give me an opportunity to get on staff and help coach the receivers and return men."

However, his coaching career would be fairly short-lived.

To finish up his master's degree, he needed to do an internship. He called up his brother who lived in Manhattan, Kans., and was able to land a gig in the athletics development office at Kansas State University as a graduate assistant.

"Luckily, that turned into a full-time job, so then I switched over and got into athletics development, and I've been there ever since," he said.

Today, Banks is the Associate Athletics Director for development at the University of Kansas, where he is also the sport administrator for the Jayhawk track & field teams.

While he's not a coach, being a sport administrator is something that has allowed him to see the coach's perspective again. "It's been really rewarding for me to get back and see the coaching and student-athlete side of things," Banks said.