Former Nebraska track and field athlete Micaylon Moore was the recipient of the 2026 NCAA Impact Award earlier this week.Nebraska Athletics

Amie Just – Jan 15, 2026 – Lincoln Journal Star

It’s been quite the week around Nebraska.

Here are some of my thoughts on various topics in and around Husker Nation:

Micaylon Moore’s Impact

One word came to mind for Micaylon Moore when reflecting on his time at Nebraska.

“Special,” he said in a video posted to the NCAA’s YouTube account. “The things that I was able to accomplish, the things that I was able to learn really helped grow me into a better person and allowed me to become who I always desired to be.”

The things Moore accomplished at Nebraska? Oh, where to begin.

He was a four-year team captain for the Nebraska track and field team and earned three All-American honors through his triple jump performances. He placed second at the NCAA indoor meet in 2025 with the third-farthest jump in Nebraska history.

Moore graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences and minored in biochemistry, humanities in medicine, psychology and was on the pre-med track. His undergraduate grade-point average was 3.86, and he earned five Academic All-Big Ten honors and was a two-time Academic All-American.

He volunteered at more than 200 different events when he was at Nebraska — volunteering at local hospitals, speaking at elementary schools and retirement communities, serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the N-Volved Leadership Group, and so much more.

With all of those things combined, Moore was the recipient of the 2026 NCAA Impact award — an award he was bestowed with on Wednesday night at the NCAA Convention.

What is the Impact Award?

It is more impressive than the Heisman. It is more impressive than the Honda. It is the most prestigious award that the NCAA gives. It’s awarded to one male and one female athlete annually across the three divisions. In a sense, Moore was recognized as the most outstanding male student-athlete across all of Division I athletics.

“To win such an award, it’s awesome. It’s hard to measure, to be honest,” Nebraska track and field head coach Justin St. Clair told the Journal Star. “When you step back, and you detach from it and you really just think about it, it’s like, ‘Wow.’

“There’s so many amazing things you can say about Micaylon. He checks every box you can imagine. Not only is he an incredible human being, he’s incredibly disciplined and resilient at what he does. You can’t really draw it up any better. He’s somebody that you can always count on — on the track, off the track, he’s always gonna be there. He’s just top-notch.”

What’s Moore up to now?

He’s studying to become a doctor.

And then there were three…

Earlier this week, there were five remaining undefeated teams in Division I men’s college basketball. But now, after losses by Iowa State and Vanderbilt, only three remain.

There’s No. 1 Arizona with a 17-0 record after handling Arizona State on Wednesday. There’s unranked Miami of Ohio with an 18-0 ledger.

And then there’s Nebraska.

There’s a lot to be said about Nebrasketball — and I’ve written quite a bit about this historic run — and yet, there’s still so much more that can be said.

Fred Hoiberg, as it stands, should be the front-runner for National Coach of the Year. Anyone who disagrees with that at this stage of the season needs to get their eyes checked.