Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2008
- Class:
- 1958
One of the greatest sportsman the city of Omaha has ever seen, Don Leahy enters the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame tonight after previously being inducted into the University of Nebraska-Omaha Athletics, Creighton Prep and the Nebraska High School Sports Halls of Fame.
A 1958 graduate of Creighton University’s Graduate School, Leahy served as Athletics Director at Creighton from 1985-90. During his tenure, women’s soccer was added as a team sport while the men’s soccer program was also revived in that time. He also helped oversee the remodeling of the Old Gym, doubled Jaybacker donations, and hired an academic advisor and men’s basketball coach Tony Barone, among other tasks.
Prior to being named Creighton’s Athletics Director, Leahy served on the Creighton Alumni Council and Athletic Board and was also the 1971 recipient of Creighton’s Alumni Merit Award.
Active in Omaha sports for more than 50 years, Leahy also was a teacher and football coach at Creighton Prep from 1952-72, director of coliseum activities at Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack from 1972-74 and athletic director at UNO from 1974-85 as well as 1995-97. He then served as the assistant athletic director at UNO from 1997-2005 before retiring. Among his lasting legacies at UNO was the addition of four women’s sports as well as Division I men’s hockey.
Leahy graduated from Creighton Prep in 1947 and went on to earn his undergraduate degree from Marquette University in 1952, where he was a star quarterback.
