‘He is beloved’: Lincoln Mayor weighs in on Fred Hoiberg’s ‘Mayor’ nickname

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Husker fans are dubbing Nebraska Men’s Basketball Head Coach Fred Hoiberg “the Mayor” after the Huskers’ win against Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Hoiberg got the nickname when he received several write-in votes in the 1993 Ames, Iowa, Mayoral Election.

It happened while he was a very popular player with the Iowa State Cyclones.

Now, that moniker means even more to Husker fans.

“I think it’s a huge compliment to the role of a Mayor that people think he is so respectable, has so much integrity, and is so looked up to that he would call him that,” said Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird. “He is beloved. I also thought it was interesting that recently, there’s been chatter online about calling him ‘the Governor’, so I guess he might be getting a promotion.”

Gaylor Baird is playing along with the joke, posing with fans in Oklahoma City who held up signs reading “Fred is my Mayor.”

With the team’s success and how he’s united the fanbase, Gaylor Baird agrees it’s a well-earned name.

But she’s not giving up her office just yet.

“Cheering for him on the court, but don’t come for my job,” she said.

For many Husker fans, Hoiberg is already a legend.

And for Gaylor Baird, she said he has helped to put Lincoln on the basketball map.

“They are incredible ambassadors for our city here in Lincoln, for the university, and of course, for Husker nation,” she said. “They have made us so proud, and they have worked so hard, and they are reaping the rewards of their hard work and dedication and unity and their selflessness. They are truly a gift to our community.”

After the tournament, the Mayor’s Office is planning something big to celebrate the team’s accomplishments.

“We have a little special plan in the works,” Gaylor Baird said. “My hope is that we can give it to him and the team after they come home with a championship.”